Heir To The Four Founders
by Keira-House M.D
Summary: Hermione discovers her true heritage - so great that she is the key to the outcome of the war. But how long can she hide from Voldemort and will she have the strength to fight for what is right rather than taking the easy way out. Companion Piece now up.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**This is my newest story and once it's finished it will be my longest so far. I have a few one-shots on my profile for Harry Potter, House M.D, Primeval and X-Men the Movie, as well as multi-chapter fics for House M.D and a Ginny/Tom fic if you're interested.**

**Any reviews or constructive criticism is welcome, though I doubt you'll bother since this is just the prologue. Enjoy.**

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**Prologue**

**This is a sort of prologue, it gives all the information you need to know before you start the story; when it takes place, whether characters are alive or dead etc. It is important you read this or you may well get confused about when its set or why certain characters are alive.**

This story takes place at the start of the trio's seventh year. Years 1 to 5 follow the books. The sixth year follows the Half Blood Prince plot but Malfoy never kills Dumbledore. He is given the task by Voldemort but finally comes round to the light side. He and best friend Blaise Zabini flee Voldemort and their fathers with their mothers, Narcissa Malfoy and Maria Zabini. Dumbledore gives them shelter and they join the Order. The fight at Hogwarts at the end of the sixth year happened, Bill was savaged by Greyback etc, but as I said, Dumbledore never died. Dumbledore managed to destroy the ring but the curse only blackened his hand, it wasn't killing him. The fake locket horcrux was retrieved but they have yet to discover R.A.B.

Sirius was stunned and fell into the veil but Hermione visited it at the end of her sixth year and using ancient magic she managed to pull him out, much to the entire Order's delight. This will be explained more later in the story.

Those who know everything about horcruxes: Dumbledore, the trio, Snape, McGonagall, Remus, Sirius, Kingsley, Tonks, Moody and Ginny.

The rest of the Order know the general gist, but not the detail the above group know.

As stated above, horcruxes are present in the story, but my story does not have anything to do with the Deathly Hallows.

Due to the rising profile of Voldemort and the death eaters in the magical world the Ministry has temporarily closed Hogwarts until the war is over and it has become the new home of the Order since Grimmauld Place was compromised. The entire Order and their families live in Hogwarts now and train for the war.

Fleur isn't present in this fic because a. I don't really like her, b. I am useless at writing accents and c. this is a Hermione/Bill fic so she doesn't really play a part. She and Bill were together but broke it off once he was savaged by Greyback.

If anyone is wondering what happened to any Hermione/Ron feelings then they fizzled out. The pair never dated, realising that they were just like brother and sister. Ron is protective of Hermione, but so are all her friends.

If you have a question about a characters status or whether a certain event happened or not then just send me a message and I'll get back to you ASAP.

As a warning this fic is not a romance - not all about how they got together. It is primarily a story about Hermione, her heritage & new powers and the war. The romance and Hermione/Bill parts are just a mini-storyline within the main story so if you're looking for a big romance this isn't the story for you. Also, the Hermione/Bill romance will not start until quite a while into the story so don't expect much interaction between the pair before then.

There will be a few chapters titled with:

Interlude: …

The … will have a name and that chapter will be from that character's POV, just a little insight into more characters, though Hermione will obviously feature.

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**I know its short but this stuff needs explaining. The next chapter will be posted right after this one.**


	2. Training At Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are welcome. Enjoy this chapter.**

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**Training at Hogwarts**

Hermione ambled slowly through the corridors of Hogwarts humming softly to herself. The last few months had been good to her and she had finally grown into her looks, clear skinned and slender, but still dwarfed by Harry and Ron's lanky frames. She had gotten to be very beautiful and her once bushy hair had evolved into long chocolate curls that framed her face nicely. Even Draco Malfoy had to admit that she had looks.

She never thought she would be happy with school being cancelled but she found it wasn't as bad as it first seemed. The Order had inducted Harry, Ron and herself into it's ranks, though Harry hadn't been of age at the time. Neville had also joined and so had Luna, who had just turned 17, being one of the oldest in her year. Ginny was living at the castle since her entire family was in the Order, but wouldn't join until she was of age.

She checked her watch and hurried her steps a little, it was almost 9 and she didn't want to be late. Those who remained at the castle still had lessons, just in a small group and they were focused towards being useful in the war. That meant no more divination, which Hermione was delighted about, but she also had to forgo Muggle Studies and History of Magic. While not her favourite subjects by far, she did enjoy them but knew they weren't necessary for her work in the Order. She turned a corner and reached her destination, the dungeons. Not all of the youngsters continued on with potions as it was not strictly necessary and not all of them had an affinity for it. Blaise and herself were the only two to carry on and had separate one on one lessons with Professor Snape. Potions was a useful skill and Hermione had already learnt how to brew the wolfsbane potion which meant that Remus would always get some even if Snape was detained by Voldemort and his spy work.

During these potion lessons she found herself becoming friends with Snape, much to the horror of Ron, the surprise of Harry and the amusement of everyone else. They were both intelligent people and she always had a retort to his sarcastic comments ready, it was always amusing to see them banter.

Potions was enjoyable as always and she worked with Snape to finish the production of some more batches of polyjuice potion, always useful for the Order. When he'd told her what they would be making she had gotten a cheeky smile on her face and he'd questioned her about it. She'd grinned, "well I'm sure you remember our second year and the ingredients that happened to go missing from your office." He nodded, "never managed to prove it was Potter," Her grin widened, "it wasn't Harry, it was me. Harry had been in enough trouble and I had a clean record." She then proceeded to regal him with the story of the polyjuice experience. Snape looked shocked, unusual for him, "you managed to brew that in your second year." She'd nodded and smiled at his shock, "oh Severus, close your mouth, you'll let in the flies." He'd just shaken his head at her and they continued the lesson.

Once potions was over she went to charms, taught by Sirius and then to transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. She ate lunch in the Great Hall with Ginny and Luna and then made her way to the Room of Requirement for Defence. Arriving there she found the rest of the youngsters along with Remus, Sirius, Tonks and Kingsley.

"Hi everyone, sorry I'm late I was in …" "the library," chorused the rest of the room before they burst out laughing. Hermione scowled, but couldn't help the smile that slid on to her face. They were working on shield charms and Hermione was paired with Blaise, who gave her a smirk. "I hope your shield charms are good Granger, cuz my spells are gonna knock you off your feet."

She grinned at his cockiness and smirked playfully back, "my shields are perfect Blaise, so it's you I would worry about." She was right, during their practice he only managed to break through her shield once, while she got through his shields half a dozen times.

Once the lesson was over she bid Blaise farewell with a self-satisfied smile on her face, while he muttered excuses under his breath and tried to ignore Draco's teasing about getting beaten by a Gryffindor girl. She saw Ginny, Fred and George cheering her and she swept into a mock bow before heading over to the corner of the room where the four adults stood talking quietly.

"Hey guys," she greeted them and laughed when Sirius gave her a grin, "nice work with Zabini, you definitely put him in his place." The others laughed their agreement and she spoke once there was quiet again, "just wanted to check that the meeting is still on tomorrow." Remus answered her question in the affirmative and she was just turning around to leave when she remembered something and turned back to them, "Kingsley, I wondered if I could possibly borrow your copy of 'Arithmancy and Ancient Runes: Connecting the dots,' since it's a new book the library doesn't stock it yet and I've been dying to read it."

Kingsley promised her that he would bring it to the next meeting and Hermione ignored the teasing eye rolling of Sirius and Tonks at her insatiable thirst for knowledge and love of reading. "Great," she replied with a smile, before hugging each in turn and heading out of the door.

She was glad she had some free time before dinner, she wanted to go back to the library. Ron had seemed shocked by the fact that she spent so much time there, even though they didn't really have homework or exams anymore. But she had explained to both Harry and him that she was still attempting to discover the identity of R.A.B. She had gone through dozens of school records, but nothing fit yet. She hoped she would find something soon.

Two fruitless hours later she knew nothing more about the elusive R.A.B, though she was now intimately familiar with the life of Roger Alectro Braxton. He had seemed like a great candidate, pure blood and deep in the dark arts, but repentant and killed by dark wizards when he turned his back on them. He had been in the 1960's school roster list, so she assumed the dark wizards referred to were death eaters. But she had been sorely disappointed when further research found he had been placed in the wrong register and was in fact from the seventeenth century.

She cursed bad filing and organisation for making her waste two precious hours researching a useless lead. Sighing, she replaced the register back on the shelf and headed towards the Great Hall for dinner. After a delicious meal of chicken, mashed potatoes and vegetables, followed by fudge cake, she headed up to her room to do a little reading before bed.

She thought about the Order as she made her way back to her dorm. Voldemort had no idea that it was in fact rather small. The main body all stayed at the castle and they were the ones to take on most of the missions, do most of the work. There were lots of people involved in the Order but they were all just reinforcements who had volunteered to fight in the big battles if needed.

The only main members who went to work were Kingsley, Moody, Tonks and Arthur and they always came back to the castle to stay the night, it was safer. The only teachers in the main Order were Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and Hagrid, so they stayed in their normal teaching quarters (Hagrid in his hut on the grounds). Mr and Mrs Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Remus, Tonks, Sirius, Moody and Kingsley, Narcissa and Maria all stayed in either the spare teaching quarters or the guest quarters.

The Order had decided that in the interests of safety all the youngsters were to stay in the same tower, Gryffindor Tower to be exact. Hermione was sharing a dorm with Ginny and Luna, to save themselves having to combine Gryffindor and Ravenclaw colours they decided to merely use a neutral lilac colour scheme. Harry, Ron, Fred, George and Neville were sharing a dorm in Gryffindor scarlet and gold and Hermione had to constantly remind them to use silencing charms as some of Fred and George's experiments could get a bit loud. Draco and Blaise shared a dorm in the green and silver colours of Slytherin, though they expressed distaste at being in Gryffindor Tower they had to say that their new dorm was more comfortable than the dungeons.

Hermione reached her dorm and settled herself onto one of the squashy sofas with a huge book on duelling techniques, which she remained engrossed in for an hour and a half. She felt rather drained from all the shields she had created in defence and so decided to have an early night. She bid everyone goodnight and headed up the stairs. Once she'd changed into her pyjamas and settled herself in her huge four-poster bed she barely had a few minutes to think about the day before she released herself into the peace that was sleep.

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**The next chapter should be up in a few days at most.**


	3. Heir To The Four Founders

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**This chapter should explain more about what the story will be about and who the 'heir to the four founders' is, though you can probably already guess.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are welcome - I love all feedback. Enjoy the chapter.**

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**Heir to the Four Founders**

The next day was filled with the same sort of routine, though they had an attack class rather than defence and she did some more research on ancient runes and arithmancy. Though she was no longer formally taught the two subjects, Dumbledore had deemed them important in research and therefore she worked either with Kingsley, Remus or on her own on private study.

She had a natural affinity for the subject, as she did with most things, and the Order was glad to have someone other than Kingsley, Remus and of course Dumbledore to help with translations and research, especially since she was the only one of the youngsters to have taken either subject.

The hour she had for lunch was mostly spent running round the lake, before a quick sandwich. Hermione knew that for battle she would have to be fit and strong in order to dodge spells and also to make her own stronger. While many of the others had quidditch, she knew it would take a lot to just get her on a broom, so playing quidditch every day was not an option for her. So she had taken to running a few laps round the lake each day, enjoying the quiet, which enabled her to think uninterrupted.

A few hours later everyone sat down to an early dinner absolutely exhausted by the attack class. It was necessary for dinner to be early due to the Order meeting straight after. She compared bruises with Harry and Ron, laughing as they complained loudly about the Order being complete slave drivers.

Once the plates were all clean everyone headed up to the room of requirement for the Order meeting. Though meetings were often held in Dumbledore's office this one was for everyone and the office just wasn't big enough to accommodate them all.

Hermione saw the twins, Draco and Blaise scuffling in an attempt to get to the door first, knowing the first one to enter would choose the room design. The last time the Slytherins had got there first they'd all been forced to sit in a green and silver room, surrounded by snakelike designs. Needless to say, most of those present had been unhappy, since most were Gryffindors.

Rolling her eyes at their childish antics she slipped past them and darted into the room before they even noticed she was there. She saw them scowling as they entered the room, which was in neutral colours of cream walls and carpet with black leather sofas and a roaring fire. She laughed at their faces, merely giving them an innocent look and informing them that they should pay attention more.

Once everyone was comfortably seated Dumbledore stood up to begin the meeting. He ran through some routine items and Hermione listened with interest as Hagrid explained his negotiations with the giants (many were deciding to remain neutral) and Kingsley briefed them all on his progress in the ministry, attempting to recruit more to the back-up Order.

Once the reports were over Dumbledore stood up again, "that is almost everything for tonight, we only have one more item, but it is the most important on our agenda and may take a while to explain." He broke off there and Hermione saw the puzzled looks on most of the Order's faces, clearly this item had not been discussed previously with many people.

"There is a legend, " began Dumbledore, "which not many know of since it is very old and normally thought of as just a fairy tale. This legend states that before Slytherin's falling out with the other three founders the four of them worked together on a very special project. They all placed some essence of their strongest magic into one object. This object was in fact a muggle."

He broke off as Draco interrupted him, "but Dumbledore, Salazar Slytherin would never place magic in a muggle, he hated them. Why not place the magic in an inanimate object or a witch or wizard." Dumbledore smiled at him, "good observation Mr Malfoy, the object had to be living to keep the magic strong and alive. As to why it was a muggle, the magic was strong and powerful and to place it inside someone with magical power already would overload them and most likely kill them."

Draco nodded in understanding and Dumbledore continued with the story, "now the founders made the magic in this muggle a repressed type, the muggle knew nothing of it. There was a charm built in which meant that the magic would be released only when the wizarding world was in great need of such a powerful witch or wizard."

Remus looked curious, "Albus, do you mean to tell us that this person would in fact be muggleborn?" Dumbledore nodded his head, "yes Remus. Now I have searched for this witch or wizard for many years, knowing that there would be a surge of magic when they came of age and only those who knew what it was, like myself, would feel it. I looked for this surge of magic during the first war, hoping this saviour of kinds would appear to aid the fight against Voldemort. But they never did and I realised that however bad the war was, there must be a more difficult time ahead where they would emerge."

"After Voldemort's return during the Triwizard Tournament I started looking for the magic again and I managed to find it just under a year ago. I knew that the person I was seeking must have just turned seventeen, but though the original muggle was English like the founders I knew the heir could be anywhere considering how many years have passed."

He gestured to Professor Snape, "I asked Severus here to help me search, he had needed to know in case Voldemort ever decided to follow up on the legend. We managed to discover the identity of the Heir to the Four Founders just three days ago after 11 months of searching and research."

Hermione was intrigued, this person could be key to war and she couldn't wait to meet them. She wondered about their abilities and decided to ask Dumbledore. He answered with a smile, "I was sure you would be the one to ask that question Miss Granger. The heir will have the power to master wandless magic, will be a natural at occlumency and legilimency, have magical strength beyond the norm and when the become an animagus they will have not one form, but four, one for each founder."

Hermione was in awe, wandless magic was near impossible and the only one she knew to have accomplished it was Dumbledore. Occlumency and Legilimency were also useful skills and the idea of four animagus forms was fascinating.

"When will we be able to meet his person then," asked Kingsley in his deep baritone voice, "and how do we know that they will be on our side, they could be leaning towards the dark." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, "I have met the person in question many times and know for sure that they are very loyal to the Order's cause. However, we must be wary as Voldemort may soon discover them and attempt to turn them. As for meeting them, you will all meet them here tonight, very soon in fact."

"Do we know them?" asked Sirius with interest and Dumbledore nodded, "you all know the heir and I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised with who it is."

The whole room leant forward in interest and Dumbledore gave a wide smile, "the Heir to the Four Founders of Hogwarts is Miss Hermione Granger." The room was silent and Hermione was trying to process what Dumbledore had just said. Everyone was looking at her, some in shock, others in awe.

She stood up shakily, "you can't be serious Professor, it can't be true." He gave her a kind look, "I can assure you it is true Miss Granger. I know it is a shock but we will all do our best to help you and protect you from Voldemort." Everyone in the room nodded feverently, but Hermione appeared struck dumb and unable to say a word.

Harry looked a little worried, "please say something Mione, anything." She shook herself out of the haze and turned to face Draco Malfoy, speaking in a slightly hysterical voice, "well at least I can say you were wrong every time you called me a mudblood, after all I have just discovered I'm the heir to all four founders of Hogwarts."

Then she fainted.

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**If anyone is wondering, this won't be some 'pure-blood Hermione' story. She tells Draco that him calling her a mudblood is wrong because the definition of mudblood is no wizarding ancestors. Hermione had the four founders as her ancestors, but that was thousands of years ago and so she is technically descended from a really long line of squibs. But no, Hermione won't go all proud and join the dark side because of her blood status, in case you were wondering.**

**The next chapter should be up in a few days.**


	4. Everybody Loves Mione

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are very welcome - I adore feedback. Enjoy the chapter.**

**You'll probably guess, but the section in italics is a flashback.**

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**Everybody Loves Mione**

Hermione awoke to lots of voices and conversations all around her;

"You better fix her Snivellus or so help me I'll …"

"Oh be quiet Black, she's merely fainted and will be awake again in a minute or two."

"She'll be ok won't she Mrs Weasley?"

"I'm sure she'll be fine Harry dear, just a bit of a shock for her."

"Would anyone care for a lemon drop?"

"Albus, I really don't think this is the time."

"Does this mean I can't call her mudblood any more?"

"You shouldn't be calling her that name anyway you ferrety prick!"

"Can't you two children get along for five minutes?"

"No!"

She felt her head spinning as she sat up on the leather sofa they must have placed her on. Snape was looking at her with an almost concerned look, "are you alright Hermione?" She nodded, "I'm fine, I think the whole thing just got to me a bit, quite a shock."

She was trying to get her head round the information she had just been told, the truth about her heritage. She looked round the room, "why are you all going to such lengths to train me and protect me. I don't want to cause the Order any worry." Harry answered her question instantly, "don't you see how special you are Mione, you've helped everyone else at some point and we're all just returning the favour. You've looked after me and Ron all these years, we probably would have been died if it wasn't for you." Ron nodded and Remus spoke, "you kept my secret for a whole year and didn't even tell Harry or Ron." Ron added his part, "you're like the top student ever and you can actually get along with Snape." Everyone laughed at this and Kingsley turned to her, "you discuss ancient runes and arithmancy with me and you give us all a run for our money when you duel." Ginny smiled at her, "without you Mione me, Luna and Tonks wouldn't have anyone to get advice from. You were the one who gave me the advice that meant I ended up dating Harry."

Hermione smiled at all their kind words, blushing under the praise. Sirius added the final comment, "you saved my life twice Mione. Once when you and your time turner set me free and again when you pulled me out of from the veil." Everyone smiled at that, it had been one of the happiest days in the Order. Hermione could remember the day so clearly.

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"… _Finis."_

_Hermione sat back absolutely exhausted, the spell had been long and tedious, had tired her hugely. She could only hope it had worked, that the veil spirit would accept her bartering. She sat and caught her breath for a few moments before the veil rustled. She scrambled up and looked closer, praying that it had worked. The veil fluttered again and her hopes soared. Suddenly there was a huge gust of wind and she had to grab the pillar next to her to stop herself falling over. The wind roared for over a minute and then suddenly it was gone and the prone form of a man was at the foot of the veil._

_She hurried over to the man and pulled him away from the mouth of the veil. Turning him round she discerned with a sigh of relief that it was indeed Sirius Black, still clutching his wand and breathing. She pulled out her own wand and pointed it at the unconscious man, "enervate."_

_He gasped and open his eyes, which darted around as if looking for an attacker. She placed a hand on his arm and he noticed she was there. "Hermione, what's going on, where are all the others? I have to get Bellatrix back for that damn stunner. And why do you look older?" Hermione gave him a small smile, "there's a lot you need to know Sirius. When Bellatrix stunned you it made you fall in the veil and we all thought you were dead. That was a year ago and its now the end of Harry, Ron and my sixth year, that is why I look older. I missed you so much Padfoot," she broke off to encase him in a fierce hug, which he returned heartily. _

"_We all mourned for you when you fell into the veil, Harry and Remus especially and so I did what I always do when I have a problem, I went to the library. I found a book about the veil and it said the only known way to get someone back was a barter with the veil spirit to get the lost person back in the form they entered the veil. I thanked Merlin that you'd only been stunned. So I came and spoke the spell and I bartered with the spirit and it worked."_

_He looked up at her in amazement, "you are incredible Hermione, you realise that." She smiled at the compliment but his smile faltered, "what did you barter Hermione, what did you give to the spirit?" Her smile dimmed, "nothing important Sirius, it wasn't all physical bartering. I'll let you know when I explain to the rest of the Order." His eyes widened further, "you mean to tell me that you came here to complete a dangerous spell without even telling anyone." She smiled sheepishly at him, "er yes. But they never would have let me try if I'd told them and it had to be done tonight, exactly one year after you fell in."_

_Seeing her face he couldn't stay mad at her, after all she had saved him from the dark limbo in the veil. When he smiled again she was relieved, "there's an Order meeting tonight at Hogwarts in Dumbledore's office. I told them I would be a little late as I had a package to pick up." He smiled wryly at her description of him and she continued, "we'll leave now, I erm made an unauthorised portkey because I don't trust the Ministry. You were exonerated after you fell through the veil but still, you can never be too safe, especially with Voldemort and the death eaters still on the loose."_

_Sirius had to smirk at the thought of Hermione Granger, bookworm extraordinaire and strict rule follower, creating an illegal portkey and sneaking around the Ministry without permission. She whipped out a tin can and they placed a finger each on it. Hermione felt sick at the jerking around her naval and decided that she hated pretty much all magical modes of transportation aside from apparation. They landed just outside the school gates and Hermione made a few complex wand movements before speaking her name and the password, Phoenix Fire, to the gate. It opened up and she strode in, followed by Sirius. _

_Seeing his questioning look she explained, "Harry, Ron and I have been inducted as Order members, though Harry isn't of age yet Dumbledore felt it was wise. Only Order members and teachers can leave the grounds and there is a password and certain wards to break." Before they entered the castle she pulled out a silvery cloak and handed it to Sirius. "I borrowed this off Harry, it's after normal curfew but there is a chance that people who shouldn't see you will be out so I won't take the chance."_

_He nodded and took the cloak, covering his tall frame. The pair made their way through the castle to Dumbledore's office as Hermione explained the Order news and the induction of Mrs Malfoy, Draco, Blaise and Mrs Zabini. Sirius raised his eyebrows at that but didn't speak, apparently willing to give them a chance. "Bertie Botts" spoke Hermione when they reached the office and the gargoyles parted to allow the two to pass. She turned to Sirius, "I'll go in and explain it to them and then come and get you when you can come in, we don't want to give them too much of a shock." He smiled at her and nodded, remaining where he was as she opened the door and entered Dumbledore's office._

_It was full of people, Harry, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, the entire Weasley family, Remus, Tonks, Kingsley and Mad-Eye Moody. Also present were the newly inducted Draco and Narcissa Malfoy with Blaise and Maria Zabini, They all turned to look at her when she entered and she smiled at them. Remus looked questioningly at her, "I thought you went to collect a package?" She nodded, "I did, it's outside. I'll bring it in soon. But before I do I just want you all to remember that sometimes rules are there to be broken and that if I happened to not mention certain things to you it was all for the better."_

_Smiling nervously she waited for their reaction, some of them looked a bit worried about what she had done and Snape turned his dark gaze on her. "What have you done Miss Granger?" he drawled silkily. She turned towards the door and spoke, "I think it will all become clear when I bring in the package." _

_She opened the door and called out to someone, "you can come in now and take Harry's cloak off." They all waited with baited breath, the 'package' Hermione had been referring to was obviously a person. No one except perhaps Dumbledore could believe it when Sirius Black stepped through the doorway._

_Harry and Remus both went deathly white and Hermione could hear intakes of breath all round the room. Once suitably recovered about half a dozen wands shot out pointed at Sirius' chest. He put his hands up in defence, "hey, what are you all doing. I'm not some death eater." Snape sneered at him, "how are we supposed to know that. You could easily be an impostor, after all we have heard nothing of a plan to bring Sirius back." Sirius rolled his eyes, "weren't you listening Snivellus. Hermione said she didn't tell any of you anything." Snape smirked back, "and how do we know she's not under the imperious." _

_Remus had recovered enough to speak up, "look, enough of your childish games. We can find out if it is Sirius by asking a few simple questions. Sirius what were our nicknames in school?" Sirius smiled, "I was Padfoot, you were Mooney, James was Prongs and that little rat Pettigrew was Wormtail."_

_Remus nodded, "it appears to be him." Snape spoke up again though, "Pettigrew would know that and has probably informed the death eaters." Sirius sighed, it was annoying being suspected, he turned to Remus and Snape, "right, ok you want proof. In our sixth year James, Remus and I were walking in a deserted corridor and came across you, Snape. James and I proceeded to use our vast knowledge of charms and our supreme imaginations to dress you up as a Victorian lady complete with makeup. We were about to make it permanent when Remus suggested enough was enough, but we still took a wizarding photo of it. Said photo remains in the Marauder memento box under the bed in my room in Grimmauld Place." _

_Remus and Snape nodded to each other and spoke simultaneously, "it's him." Harry, who had been rather silent up until that moment launched himself at Sirius and proceeded to sob for a full five minutes in a very un-Harry like manner. Remus looked delighted, as did Dumbledore. Even McGonagall gave a huge smile for her favourite mischief maker._

_Once the greetings were over they all turned to look at Hermione who went red and looked away. Dumbledore looked at her, "care to explain Miss Granger." Hermione swore mentally, this was the part she didn't look forward to. She proceeded to explain her research and discovery of the spell, then how she had kept it quiet and gone to the Ministry in order to conduct the spell exactly one year after the incident. The room remained quiet throughout her story but when she finished Remus spoke quietly, "Hermione, what exactly did you use to barter with?" It was the question everyone wanted answering and Sirius looked curiously at her, wanting to know the answer to the one thing she wouldn't tell him. They all knew that some spells required soul or used incredibly dark magic and they prayed that Hermione hadn't got involved in that sort of magic._

"_Well it was an interesting experience. First I had to tell the spirit why I wanted Sirius back so much. So I told it about his value to the Order, how he was needed to help end the war and destroy Voldemort. I told it about Harry and Remus and how much they needed Sirius and missed him. I also told it about how much I needed him back, but that is a story for another time." Though curious at this, the group accepted it and Hermione continued. "It accepted that and then asked for a gift, which I gave it." She went silent there and Harry spoke for the first time, "what was the gift Mione, what did you give it?" She had been hoping to avoid that part but they were perceptive as always. "I gave it some of my blood."_

_She was immediately converged upon by a number of the Order to be checked over. She didn't want to worry them so she spoke again, "it wasn't much blood and I feel fine. The spirit even let me mix it in with a potion I'd created that made sure the blood couldn't be used in a spell or ritual against me. It said it was magical enough as it is and that the potion wouldn't affect it."_

_This seemed to reassure them though Molly still hovered around her. Now that the tale was over Dumbledore told Harry, Ron and Ginny to go with Madame Pomfrey, who had also been present, and take Sirius down to the hospital wing to be checked over. The rest of the Weasleys, the two Malfoys and two Zabinis left for their quarters, Narcissa and Draco giving nods to Sirius on the way out._

_That left Hermione with Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Remus, Tonks, Kingsley and Moody, all of whom proceeded to lecture on the importance of having others check over a spell, not running off on her own and informing the Order of her plans. After the lecture had finished McGonagall, Snape, Tonks and Moody all disappeared and Dumbledore asked Remus and Kingsley to escort her to the hospital wing to make sure the blood loss hadn't affected her. Just before she left he gave her a smile, "we never did say well done Miss Granger and thank you. You did a great thing." She saw those blue eyes twinkling just before she left his office._

_She walked down chatting to Kingsley, they were discussing ancient runes, a favourite subject for both of them. Remus was silent and seemed deep in thought until he spoke during a break in conversation, "why didn't you come to me or Harry, Mione? You know we would have helped, no matter how many rules we needed to break." She smiled brightly at him, "I know you would of Remus. Both of you would do pretty much anything to get Sirius back. But if I had told you and we hadn't managed it there would have been false hope and you would have been devastated. Harry has so much faith in me, he believes I'm capable of anything. I didn't want there to be any disappointment. If I did it on my own then no one would ever know and you wouldn't have had to mourn again."_

_Both Remus and Kingsley smiled affectionately at her, "you are too kind for your own good Mione," said Remus. They reached the hospital wing and Kingsley gave her a paternal kiss on the cheek before disappearing down the corridor. Remus followed her into the hospital wing to check on Sirius. They were all so happy, Sirius was back and with him gave more hope for the future. _

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Hermione shook herself out of the memory and turned back to the group of people she loved like family, all willing to put their lives at risk for her. "Thanks," she spoke quietly, "thanks for being there for me." They all smiled and she grinned back. "I think I'll head off the bed now, its been a long day, lots of information to take in. They all nodded and Sirius and Remus offered to escort her back to the tower. They told her stories of the marauder days at Hogwarts on the way back in an attempt to keep her mind off the news she had learnt and she was grateful.

As soon as she got to the tower she bid goodnight to Sirius and Remus and hurried up to her dorm where she fell into a dreamless sleep almost as soon as she hit the bed.

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**Hope you enjoyed this chapter and now understand how Sirius managed to return.**

**The next chapter should be up in a few days.**


	5. Discovering More

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are very welcome - I love any feedback. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

**Discovering More**

Hermione awoke early the next morning and as she sat up in bed everything she had discovered the night before came flooding back to her in a rush of memories. She was the heir to the four Hogwarts founders, supposedly with the ability for strong power and apparently supposed to be some saviour.

But what about Harry, the prophesy said that only Harry had the power to defeat Voldemort, not her. She would have to speak to Dumbledore. Come to think of it there were many questions she wanted answering, she wanted to know if Voldemort would discover her, how she would come about these abilities she was rumoured to have.

She dreaded seeing everyone else, she hadn't really gouged their reactions when they had been told, she'd been too shocked and confused. What if Harry didn't like it, after all he was supposed to be the wizarding world's saviour. But she shook this thought away quickly, Harry had never asked to be the 'chosen one' and she knew he wouldn't blame her for something that wasn't her fault.

Sighing at her thoughts she pulled herself out of bed and noted that both Ginny and Luna were still asleep. She was glad, she didn't really feel like talking much to anybody at the moment. She slipped off for a shower and then went to her closet and pulled out a pair of jeans and her red and gold striped polo shirt. She quickly dried off her hair, leaving it down, and then grabbed a pair of white trainers.

Her stomach gave a rumble and she decided it was safe enough to head down to the great hall for breakfast. It was only 7.15 so she knew there would be little chance of anyone else being down there. But when she arrived, pushing open the huge doors, she was surprised to find Dumbledore, Snape, Remus, Sirius, Kingsley and Tonks all sitting down at the table, as if they were waiting for someone.

When they all heard her enter they turned to face her, each one giving her a warm smile. It was then that she realised, they were waiting for her. Did this mean that she was finally going to understand a bit more about this supposed destiny she had?

She walked hesitantly over to the table and sat down in one of the spaces, next to Tonks and opposite Dumbledore. He surveyed her from behind his half-moon glasses, "good morning Miss Granger, how are you this lovely morning?" She gave him a small smile, "I'm ok thank you Sir, just a little confused."

He nodded, "yes, I suppose you still have questions and I realise you've probably guessed that we are all here to help you answer these questions." Hermione nodded eagerly, the first question slipping from her mouth quickly, "Sir, does Voldemort know about me yet?"

Dumbledore shook his head and gestured to Snape, who explained, "the Dark Lord felt the surge of magic just like Albus, but he didn't know its meaning. He has a few of his followers researching, which I'm afraid means he will almost certainly become aware soon."

Hermione furrowed her brow, this wasn't too good, but at least Voldemort didn't know just yet, that gave her some time to prepare. "What will happen now, will I still have lessons?" she asked, a slightly worried undertone evident in her voice.

Dumbledore nodded, "yes, your lessons will remain the same, but you will have some additions. Over time you will begin to learn occlumency, legilimency and wandless magic. You will also work on becoming an animagus with Minerva. Then there is of course your research on Voldemort's horcruxes and their locations."

Hermione was rather excited at this plan, it would be fascinating to learn all the different branches of magic. She just wished that her horcrux research was going a little better; she still hadn't discovered R.A.B and it was getting on her nerves.

She remained silent as she contemplated whether or not she should share her worry about Harry's feelings on the matter, would they think she was being silly. Dumbledore of course noticed something was wrong, "I sense you have another question to ask me Miss Granger, please feel free."

Hermione bit her lip, "it's just, well, I'm a bit worried what Harry will think. He is supposed to be the wizarding world's saviour and he might think I'm intruding on his territory or something." She waited for the laughs at her silliness, but when she looked up she just found looks of understanding.

Dumbledore smiled indulgently at her, "yes, I did think you might have this worry, after all you are a young lady who often worries about the happiness of others. When you left last night I had a little talk with Harry and he isn't at all bothered by if this would affect his prophesy, he is more concerned for how it will affect you."

Hermione sighed in relief, "but Professor, do you know how this could affect Harry's prophesy?" Dumbledore looked thoughtful, "I have many ideas, but I cannot be certain, there are two options that seem most logical. The first is that Harry's prophesy will remain the same, he must be the one to kill Voldemort. In this option you would use your gifts to aid in hunting and destroying the horcruxes, as well as to take down death eaters and possibly weaken Voldemort."

He stopped there to allow Hermione to take it all in, "the second option would be that Harry's prophesy is voided by your existence. Your beginning in the four founders was thousands of years before Harry's prophesy was made. It could be that his prophesy was a smoke shadow to allow you to remain hidden or that it was a contingency plan for if the heir never chose this time to emerge."

Hermione nodded, she knew prophesies didn't always come to pass, though everyone had assumed that Harry's inevitably would, then again Voldemort had pretty much guaranteed it. She did wonder though, if it came down to it, would she really be able to kill another person, even if it was Voldemort. She shuddered and decided that she wouldn't think about it for the time being.

Thanking Dumbledore for answering her questions she finally began to eat her breakfast while conversing with the Order members at the table about her new gifts. They were all very excited and looking forward to helping her learn to control them. Remus was also looking forward to having another animagus to keep him in check during the full moon.

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Once she had finished breakfast Hermione headed back up to Gryffindor Tower with Tonks keeping her company. The pair went up to the girls dorm, where Ginny and Luna had just woken up, and the four spent a pleasant hour discussing Tonks' new hair colour (black with a silver streak) and Hermione's new found heritage while waiting for the boys to finally wake up.

The boys woke up eventually, though loudly complaining about the light shining through their windows (mostly Ron) and going on about how hungry they were (also mostly Ron). The girls merely rolled their eyes, used to this sort of behaviour.

Once the boys had eaten more than their fair share of breakfast Tonks left them to depart for work and the teens all congregated in their common room to discuss what to do for their free day.

Harry and Ginny were planning a romantic picnic on the grounds and the three Weasley brothers were going to find Bill and Charlie to have a game of quidditch. Neville had decided to watch their game and everyone was glad when he decided not to actually play - the last time Neville had played quidditch he had ended up unconscious for a day after being hit by a bludger while on the process of falling off his broom, luckily there was no lasting damage.

Blaise and Luna were planning to go looking for nargles and no one bothered to question their existence, used to Luna's strange references to apparently imaginary creatures. Hermione gave a little grin when she heard Blaise was going with Luna, he seemed to be spending a lot of time with her lately and she knew he harboured a bit of a crush on her. Luna had also confided a liking for the tall, brooding slytherin and Hermione hoped it would eventually amount to something, despite the unlikely pairing the two were very good together, complimenting each other's personalities.

That left Hermione and Draco who decided they would do separate things around the castle, Draco was thinking of going to see his mother and perhaps Snape since they were the two people in the castle who knew him best.

Hermione managed to catch Harry for a quick chat before he left with Ginny. He assured her that he was fine with her heritage and even managed to joke that he could slack off now he wasn't necessarily supposed to save the world. He'd then inquired about her well being and how she was coping which led to her pulling him into a huge hug and asking him when he'd managed to grow up.

Satisfied that there was no problem with Harry she had chatted a little to Draco before he left to see Narcissa, joking about how Lucius would react to her now he could no longer use the insult of mudblood. Once Draco had left she had spent the day pottering around the castle, she went to see Remus and Sirius and was regaled with stories of the marauders and Lily and then she went down to see Snape for a bit and check on a batch of wolfsbane potion.

She'd spent the remainder of the day researching in the library yet again until Tonks came back from auror work. Hermione then managed to persuade Tonks to have a few mock duels with her, she was intent on improving her duelling skills and was learning fast. Though she didn't manage to beat Tonks it was close a few times and she managed to get some excellent spells and hexes in.

Hermione spent most of dinner talking to Professor McGonagall about animagus transformations, her transfiguration professor very excited about her favourite pupil being able to change into not one, but four, creatures. When she went to bed that night after a few very exuberant rounds of exploding snap she was satisfied that she now knew much more about her heritage than she had that morning.

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**The next chapter should be up in a few days.**


	6. An Accident

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are very welcome - I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

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**An Accident**

Hermione, Ron and Harry were all in the library, the first having dragged the latter two in for some horcrux research. They knew that Slytherin's ring was destroyed and Dumbledore had informed them that he held the only relic of Godric Gryffindor, his sword, which left them with objects belonging to Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.

Currently, they were researching objects belonging to Helga Hufflepuff and from the research so far their best bet was her cup. A diagram they had found showed it as a small golden cup with an image of a badger on the front.

They were working in relative silence until Hermione suddenly emitted a high pitched squeal of excitement, which caused both Harry and Ron to hold their ears in slight pain. "What on earth is wrong Mione?" asked Ron, "you don't normally squeal like a banshee."

Hermione shook her head at him, "nothing's wrong Ron. It's the trophy room," she breathed, "Tom Riddle has an award for special services to the school there. Maybe it is actually Helga Hufflepuff's cup transfigured." She saw a smile appear on Harry's face, "you could be right Mione, it's the sort of thing Voldemort would do, after all he saw Hogwarts as his true home. We should go and check it out now, after all it is right here in the school."

"Er, maybe we should wait for some of the Order to help Harry," said Ron, "we don't know what curses could have been placed on it do we?" Hermione nodded, "I agree with Ron, this is too dangerous for the three of us." Harry looked angry, "look, we're perfectly capable and I'm going now so are you coming or not?"

Hermione looked at Ron and they both sighed, there was no reasoning with Harry when he got into one of his moods. "Fine," they both said reluctantly and the three set off for the trophy room. When they got there Ron led them over to the special services award, reminiscing about the time he'd had to clean it while constantly belching slugs in their second year.

Hermione held them back before they went to look closer, "Harry, if this does turn out to be a horcrux, promise me that you won't try to destroy it but will bring it to the Order to do so." Harry gave a curt nod and she began to cast spells on the cup designed to reveal its true form. After a few minutes she lapsed into silence and they waited. The shield took on a green glow and slowly changed into a small golden cup with a badger on it. They all grinned and a few more spells from Hermione confirmed that it was the real cup.

She conjured a blanket and went to wrap the cup up when Harry stepped in front of her, wand drawn. She realised what he was going to do and tried to stop him, "Harry, no! It's too dangerous and you know it." But he wouldn't listen, "Hermione, the adults are all in a meeting and we might as well get it over with, this is a piece of His soul and the sooner it is destroyed the better."

Hermione shook her head and tried to pull him away but given he was a good few inches taller than she was it was a futile attempt. She ran for the door with the intent of warning the Order just as Harry pointed and the cup and shouted "Bombarda Maxima". She turned just in time to see the spell ricochet off the cup and hit the ceiling above the door where she was standing. The last thing she saw before everything went black was chunks of wood and plaster collapsing around her and Harry's pained, shocked expression before her.

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When Harry and Ron saw the roof collapse on Hermione they were too shocked to move and remained frozen to the spot until Remus, Sirius, Tonks and Snape arrived in a panic, demanding to know what the noise had been. It seemed to force Harry out of his frozen state and he spoke rapidly, "the roof … it collapsed … Hermione … she was under it … you have to help her … all my fault."

The four adults immediately sprang into action and with a series of levitation spells they managed to remove the rubble and get to Hermione below. Snape leant down to examine her and stood up again after a few moments, "she is alive but in a bad way, there is quite a bit of internal damage, we must get her to the hospital wing now." Tonks conjured a stretcher and levitated Hermione onto it and the group all set off.

It only took them a minute to reach the hospital wing and they were greeted by both Madame Pomfrey as well as Dumbledore and Professor McGonnagal, who had been sent a message via Remus' patronus. The Hogwarts matron got to work on Hermione straight away and everyone else moved away from the bed to let her work. Harry and Ron felt the eyes of all adults present upon them and looked anguished. "Potter, Weasley, care to explain how Miss Granger came to be in this condition," sneered Snape. Harry hung his head and spoke, "Mione said she thought she knew where to find another horcrux, that it could be Helga Hufflepuff's cup. She also said that she had a hunch that Voldemort had transfigured it and it was in fact his special award for services to the school. So I said we should go look but Mione and Ron argued."

Ron took over when Harry went quiet, "Mione said we should go and get some of you but Harry said you'd all be busy and we might as well go now. We both knew what Harry's like in his moods and we didn't want him going alone so we went along with it. When we got there Mione made Harry promise that if it was the real cup that he wouldn't try and destroy it himself because it could be dangerous and he agreed. So she did some uncloaking spells and some tests and we found out it was the real cup. Mione conjured a blanket and was gonna take it to you but Harry stopped her."

The collective group of adults turned to Harry, all glaring at him and he went red. "I was angry ok, it was a piece of Voldemort's soul and I thought it should be destroyed as soon as possible rather than waiting. But Mione tried to stop me and I wouldn't let her. It's my fault, she left to go and get you just as I cast bombarda maxima on the cup. But the spell bounced off and hit the ceiling above the door, It collapsed on Mione and its all my fault. I'm so sorry … I didn't mean to … I just … please tell me she'll be ok … all my fault." He broke down in tears at this and Ron moved to pat him on the back. All the adults looked grave.

Snape looked disgusted and proceeded to show it, "once again Potter your rash decisions end up hurting someone else, if you could only use whatever brain you have for once then this could be prevented. As it is you better hope there is no permanent damage and that she is more forgiving than the rest of us." He swept away and headed over to assist Madame Pomfrey. Many would think Snape was just using the incident as an excuse to rage at Harry, but everyone in the room knew he did actually care about Hermione, she was a brilliant student and their potions work had led to friendship. She was also one of the few who could tolerate all his moods.

Professor McGonagall looked grave and gave Harry one of her famous stares before going over to check on her favourite student. Dumbledore turned to Harry and he felt terrible, Dumbledore had never directed anger or disappointment at him and he was worried about his reaction. He breathed a sigh of relief when Dumbledore merely spoke one sentence, but it was one that made him think seriously about what he had done. "Always remember Harry, your friends are much more important than anything else, for without friendship and love the war against Voldemort is lost already." With those words of wisdom he left after telling Madame Pomfrey to floo him when Hermione awoke.

That left Harry and Ron with Sirius, Remus and Tonks, who all looked concerned. Remus turned to Tonks, "Dora, would you mind taking Ron to let everyone else know what has happened, Sirius and I would like to have a word with Harry." Tonks nodded and with a glance at Hermione she and Ron disappeared out the door.

Harry looked tentatively at Sirius and Remus and glanced down again in shame when he saw the looks of disappointment on their faces. Remus shook his head and Sirius spoke, "what the hell were you thinking Harry, you saw what the ring horcrux did to Dumbledore's hand, you should have brought it to us to be destroyed, you had to have known there would be some protective charms on it."

Harry chanced another glance at the two marauders, "that's what Hermione told me I should do, its what she was going to do. I should have listened to her, she is always right, always stopping Ron and I from bowling into things and getting killed."

He had such a look of self-loathing that the two men's expressions softened slightly and Remus spoke in a kind, but firm tone. "I know you can be a little rash when it concerns Voldemort, but Harry you must take other people in to consideration too. Think how you would have felt if Hermione had been critically or fatally injured, you would never forgive yourself. I don't want to see that happen to you."

Harry nodded solemnly and left the two men to walk over to Hermione, who had been left alone to sleep once Madame Pomfrey and Snape were finished working on her, and he dropped a kiss on her forehead. "Sorry Mione," he whispered softly, before squeezing her hand and heading away to his dorm to think about the consequences of his actions.

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**Aww, poor Hermione. I think this chapter shows that Harry can often be a little rash, though he means well, but he is starting to learn the consequences of his actions and maturing.**

**Next chapter should be up in a few days.**


	7. Recovery

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are very welcome - I adore any feedback. Enjoy the chapter.**

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**Recovery**

Hermione was still confined to bed in the hospital wing a week after her accident in the trophy room. She was very bored and reminded of her time there after she was cursed by Dolohov during the battle at the Department of Mysteries.

Harry had been the first in to see her once she had woken up and he had spent twenty minutes apologising profusely for his actions. He would have probably spent even longer if she hadn't threatened to hex him if he didn't shut up. She had told him that she had forgiven him from the start, that he just needed to learn to be a bit less rash. She'd been much more forgiving than some of the others, who had shouted themselves hoarse at him for his stupidity. Even Molly Weasley, in whose eyes he could do no wrong, gave him as stern a talking to as he was ever likely to get from her.

Harry, Ron and Ginny visited her two or three times a day, as did Sirius and Remus. Tonks and Kingsley stopped by as much as their auror schedules allowed them to, the rest of the Order were regular visitors and even Moody stopped by once to tell her how he admired her resilience.

Between so many visitors she was almost never alone and was glad for it, since the hospital wing was such a boring place. Remus had given her some ideas of ways to stop the boredom, after all he had spent many a night in the hospital wing after his transformations in the Whomping Willow.

She spent a visitor free afternoon, courtesy of a training session, learning about what injuries she had sustained in the accident. It helped her understand why she had to spend so long in the hospital wing when she realised she'd had not only cuts and bruises but three broken ribs, a sprained wrist, a broken leg and internal bleeding. Even with magical intervention and Madame Pomfrey's expertise she was still sore and achy.

The Order had reluctantly agreed to wait until she was sufficiently recovered to destroy the horcrux, they had wished to do it as soon as possible but Hermione, backed up by both Harry and Ron, wanted to be there to help. Taking into account that she almost died in an attempt to recover it, the Order decided that she deserved to be there.

The morning she was finally let out, 9 days after her accident, she had been spending some time being amused by Ron and Harry with the story of their duelling training the day before.

"So then Neville goes to fire a spell at Kingsley, but since it's Neville it ends up hitting Malfoy. Of course then me, Harry, Ginny, Fred and George are in hysterics at the ferret dancing round cuz his feet feel like they're on fire." Ron broke off from his story at Hermione's reproaching look.

"Ronald, Draco is on our side now, you could at least try and be a little nicer to him, it is difficult for him trying to fit in with the Order." Ron protested instantly, "it was nothing to do with him being Malfoy, Mione, it was just a really funny incident and we would have laughed at anyone. Anyway, Sirius, Remus, Tonks and Kingsley were all laughing."

Hermione just rolled her eyes, "well those four are just like big kids sometimes so I wouldn't exactly use that as an excuse." Ron just ignored her admonishment and carried on, "so then they had to stop the lesson for a while because we were all laughing so hard we couldn't aim our spells and of course Malfoy couldn't do anything with the spell on him …"

He droned on about the training, Harry adding in bits and pieces every now and then, but Hermione tried to tune it out, wondering when the hell she would finally get out of the whitewashed ward. Madame Pomfrey chose that moment to come over and both Harry and Ron stepped outside for a few minutes to allow her to do a full examination of Hermione.

When she was done the matron informed an ecstatic Hermione that she was at long last allowed to leave the hospital wing as soon as one of the Order members came to escort her back to her dorm. An adult member, she stressed to Harry and Ron, who looked disappointed that Hermione couldn't leave straight away.

They left to inform the Order of the news and to schedule the destruction of the horcrux for the afternoon while Hermione changed and packed up her things. She had a permanent smile on her face, glad to be getting back to her own bed, being able to walk round freely and also to no longer have to eat hospital food.

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15 minutes after Harry and Ron left her Tonks and Remus came to take her back to her dorm and also to inform her that the destruction of the horcrux would begin at 3 that afternoon and would take place in the room of requirement. All those who knew the full horcrux story would be present since they didn't know how much power it would take to destroy it.

Hermione and Tonks spent the time they were walking to the tower having a girly catch up, Tonks letting Hermione in on how her relationship with Remus was going (very well) and the two girls were in constant giggles. Remus tried to ignore the two of them, but his werewolf super hearing enabled him to hear pretty much everything the girls were saying, whether he wanted to or not. He spent most of the journey with a blush across his face, after all what guy wants to hear their girlfriend tell their ex-student turned close friend how big his 'wand' is.

They met up with Harry, Ron and Ginny in the common room, where Remus and Tonks left them to their own devices for the few hours before they went to destroy the horcrux. Ginny had been brought in on the secret concerning the horcruxes for a number of reasons; one was that Harry refused to keep anything from his girlfriend, second was that although young she was a powerful witch and would be helpful in the destruction of the horcruxes and third was that after surviving being possessed by Tom Riddle for a year she had earned the right to help in his demise.

The four spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon in Gryffindor Tower, only leaving to eat lunch in the Great Hall. Hermione read, Ron and Harry played chess and Ginny practiced some hexes on a chair she transfigured to a target. The poor object wasn't looking too good after being subjected to a few bouts of Ginny's famous bat-bogey hex and she completely obliterated it with a powerful reducto spell.

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At 2.45 the quartet set off for the room of requirement in good spirits, eagerly anticipating watching, and helping with, the destruction of the third piece of Voldemort's soul. They were the last to reach the room and looked round curiously as they entered. The room was almost bare and as big as they'd seen it when they used it for D.A practice.

The small, golden cup sat on a small wooden table in the middle of the room, where Dumbledore, Moody, Snape and Kingsley were performing a series of spells on it to see the sort of defences it had and if there were any curses on it. Dumbledore beamed as the four entered the room, "ahh, lovely to see you all here," he turned to Hermione, "Miss Granger, I wondered if you could help us out with the detection spells. We need another wand you see and the rest of our group are busy," he waved his hand over to his right and she saw that those not with Dumbledore were erecting shields so that they could fire their spells, but be protected from any ricocheting spells or debris.

She nodded, "of course Professor, before heading over to them and pulling out her wand. Kingsley smiled when he saw her, "glad to see you out of the hospital wing Mione, no lasting damage I hope?" Hermione grinned back, "thanks Kings, I'm feeling much better thanks, no lasting damage thank goodness."

Kingsley turned away to continue with his work and Snape turned to Hermione, "I'm glad you're well now Hermione, no offence to Zabini but he just isn't as interesting as you." Hermione gave him a sardonic smile, "why Severus I didn't know you'd actually miss my constant questioning." Snape's mouth twitched so it looked almost like a smile, but then he glanced over to Harry. "I take it you forgave Potter straight away, you are, after all, much too forgiving for your own good."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "honestly Severus, you and Harry have to get over this 'let's hate each other because of some childish pranks twenty years ago which Harry wasn't even alive for.' Harry was incredibly sorry and felt a lot of guilt, it got rather tiring after a while if you must know. He is one of my best friends and I won't lose him because he got a little rash and caused an accident, because that's what it was - an accident. You have to stop acting like he purposely tried to kill me. All the lectures he got from the rest of the Order were punishment enough."

Snape merely nodded reluctantly and they both got back to checking the cup over. After another 15 minutes of intense spell work they had determined that the cup had no curses upon it, luckily for them, however there were many layers of spell work on it that would take some power to undo.

The entire group had to send a reducto at the cup at the same time to increase the spell's power. They repeated this action with 'bombarda maxima', 'diffindo' and 'sectusempra'. The final of these had a rather unusual effect, causing the cup to apparently bleed a glowing blue liquid.

But they knew it wasn't over yet. Dumbledore and Snape, both separately and then together, chanted complicated charms and spells so quickly even she did not understand half of what was said. Finally the two powerful wizards sat down exhausted and there was just one more thing to do.

Hermione was allowed the final blow to the cup since she had been the one to discover it's whereabouts. She noticed that Harry seemed a little miffed by this, but it didn't last long as he knew he wasn't quite forgiven for the accident he had caused and he knew Hermione deserved it with all the work she had done.

Hermione left the protective shields with a basilisk fang in hand, Harry had gone back down to the chamber with both Dumbledore and Snape to retrieve one. Stepping apprehensively towards the small cup she raised the basilisk had above her head. After hesitating for only a few seconds she plunged the fang into the cup and stood back in both fascination and horror as she saw what happened next.

The cup immediately turned black and took on the appearance of what appeared to be charred bones. It smoked slightly before beginning to ooze sticky, dark red blood. They all grimaced at the sight and Hermione headed back into the protective shields quickly, not really enjoying the pungent smell of death surrounding the cup.

Snape stepped forward and levitated the ruined object into a magically enhanced chest before using a combination of complicated locking charms and vanishing it to a secret place in Dumbledore's office. Once the previous horcrux had gone from the room everyone began dispersing, many of them congratulating her on her success. Moody clapped her on the shoulder as he left the room and she then moved over to Remus, who had earlier promised her he would do some duelling practice with her now she was well.

They waited till the others had left with warnings to Remus about watching his back because Hermione was, in Sirius' words, "a girl who looks like an angel, but fights like a demon and is liable to seriously kick your ass if you lose concentration for even a minute. She's one powerful minx."

Then they all left Remus to beat Hermione in the first duel, her to beat him in the second and them to call it a draw after their deciding third duel ended up lasting over half an hour without a conclusion. Kissing Remus goodnight on the cheek Hermione left to shower and then head to bed, muscles aching and exhausted from the duelling session.

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**As usual the next chapter should be up in a few days.**


	8. First Mission

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are very welcome - I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

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**First Mission**

Hermione was both nervous and excited, it was to be her first mission for the Order, nothing too big yet, just a regular scouting mission. They had to check out death eater activity at a house a few miles from Malfoy Manor. Harry had been on some missions before, though Ron had not. This mission was meant to be for Harry and Hermione was supposed to have one in a month or two. But after the incident with Hufflepuff's cup Harry had been confined to the castle for a few weeks as punishment and so the task fell to her.

Of course, being a junior member of the Order she would have a more experienced member with her and she was glad that it would be Kingsley. He was a very reassuring presence, as well as an extremely capable wizard and one of her great friends, the older brother she never had.

They were both dressed casually in muggle clothes since the house they were watching wasn't situated in a wizarding district. It wasn't too strange seeing Kingsley in muggle attire, as it would be with Dumbledore and Snape, he had worn them a lot while protecting the muggle Prime Minister.

The hour before she left was filled with lots of last minute advice from almost the entire Order and she struggled to take it all in at once. But after goodbyes from Molly, McGonagall, Dumbledore, Tonks and Snape and a final "constant vigilance Granger," from Moody she was ready to go. She grinned as she watched Harry, Ron, Sirius, Remus and Ginny threaten the hex Kingsley if he brought her back in less than perfect condition and then they were gone with two pops of apparation.

The two appeared simultaneously at the edge of a forest in the middle of nowhere, the only structure being the house they were keeping an eye on. Kingsley waved his wand over his own head and she saw him take on the exact texture of the trees behind him. She did the same and felt the telltale cold trickle down her back the disillusionment caused.

"So is that it?" she asked Kingsley, the house didn't look very dangerous, in fact you couldn't even really call it a house. It was a quaint thatched cottage with a blooming flower garden and it looked like it belonged in a fairytale. Kingsley gave a little smile, "yep, that's it Mione, but don't let the picturesque appearance fool you. It's supposedly much bigger on the inside and the death eaters apparently use it sometimes for meetings or stay the occasionally. At least that's what Severus told us, though he's only been in once.

They moved closer to the house, glad for the tall grass to hide them if their disillusionment failed. They were only about 20 metres from the cottage when Kingsley suddenly dragged her down, "watch out Mione," he pointed out two men in dark cloaks who had just apparated nearby and were now talking in hushed tones.

Hermione was puzzled, "doesn't the cottage have some sort of charm or protection on it, like Grimmauld Place did?" Kingsley gave her a nod of approval, "very good Mione, but no, you see that's the beauty of it. All the aurors look into places with high magical energies, which means there's a good chance of many wards and therefore possible death eater activity. But this place just appears to be an abandoned cottage to them, I'd bet it could even be a muggle property and so not registered in the ministry."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, it did make a lot of sense, though she laughed inwardly at the thought of Voldemort having anything to do with muggles. The two remained in comfortable silence for a few minutes while the two death eaters finished their conversation and then moved inside the cottage. As the turned to enter the door Hermione caught a glimpse of their faces, Crabbe and Goyle senior if she was correct.

She rolled her eyes at the memory of their two buffoon sons, stuck as Malfoy's much insulted bodyguards. Kingsley also seemed to be looking at them in interest, but he waited until the door closed behind them before voicing his thoughts. "Dumbledore told me we were to observe only, but if we saw any death eaters and wouldn't be in any danger then we had permission to take them down and turn them over to Azkaban."

Hermione thought about that, it would be rather exciting to do something like that and she knew it would weaken the death eaters to lose two men, even if they weren't the smartest by far. "Well I don't see any harm in them, their sons were in my year at school and if their fathers are anything like them then it'll be a walk in the park."

Kingsley nodded, "well if they're alone when the come out then we'll try and nab them if we can." They spent the next ten minutes watching the door eagerly before realising the pair weren't going to come out any time soon. From the brief glimpse Hermione had got of the kitchen it seemed like they were sitting comfortably at the table with drinks, and snacks of course.

Kingsley asked her if she'd finished the book he'd leant her and she grinned, "yeah, it was brilliant thanks. An absolute godsend during those boring hours in the hospital wing. What do you think about Brustlehurst's theory on how a combination of arithmancy and ancient runes in a complex formula could theoretically predict any event or result?"

The auror frowned, "it's difficult to say, you'd have to have a certain amount of information to hand, quite a lot actually. If it was ever achieved then it would be so complex that few would understand it fully and it is likely it would be outlawed since it could potentially turn the wizarding world upside down with predictions."

"Yes, but think of the possibilities," said Hermione wistfully, "I've been doing a few arithmantic equations using the main information we have and it looks rather promising in terms of winning the war, we have a 76% chance if things continue on the way they are, possibly higher. The problem is the cost in terms of death, I don't like how it's going and I don't want to lose so many people. But since I added in my new heritage it seems to be steadily improving and that makes me hopeful. Of course I don't know what the matrix is calculating that I have to achieve in order to gain these statistics. It seems like such a huge burden, I definitely don't envy Harry."

Kingsley gave her a sympathetic look, "well I don't envy either you or Harry, Mione, it is a difficult and complex task you have ahead of you. But if there was any one person who could do it then it's you. Hermione, you are a brilliant witch and an extraordinary person."

She blushed a slight pink under his praise and she was glad he was one of her best friends, they all always managed to make her feel better no matter what was going on. She threw her arms round him in a friendly hug and laughed as he hugged her back and ruffled her already wild hair. She prided herself on being one of the few people the normally serious auror showed his more affectionate side to.

They were just settling back into their makeshift chairs, two tree stumps, when they heard the door open and the two overweight death eaters stepped out into the fresh air. Kingsley nodded to her and they both pulled out their wands and crept closer to where the two men were exchanging goodbyes, trying to stay quiet and thankfully succeeding.

Kingsley winked and they both lifted their wands and shouted the same spell, "stupefy". They managed to get Crabbe straight on and he was on the floor in a second, but Goyle somehow managed to just dodge the spell aimed at him and withdrew his wand immediately. Of course, he couldn't see anyone around him and that made it a little more difficult for him.

He seemed to see his best option as firing random spells and to keep moving. His agility was quite surprising for one of his age and weight and he almost managed to hit Hermione full on with a sectusempra, narrowly missing and just cutting her cheek. The slight spurt of blood seemingly out of thin air distracted the death eater long enough for Kingsley to stun him.

As soon as he saw they were safe he ran over to Hermione and tilted her head to look at the cut. "Don't fuss Kings, it's just a scratch," said Hermione wearily, knowing full well he would still fuss anyway. She almost laughed at his worry, "damn it, they'll all kill me. I'm gonna have Harry, Ron, Remus, Sirius, Ginny and Molly out for my blood, even if it is a perfectly harmless cut."

Hermione came up with a plan of action while they were bounding the two unconscious death eaters on the floor. "Well here's what we'll do Kings, we'll both apparate back to Hogwarts gates so we can say you saw me back. Then you take these two," she gestured to the lumps on the floor, "to the Ministry auror department and I'll go in and explain what happened. Hopefully if they're angry then their anger will have calmed by the time you get back," or at least some of them she thought, thinking of Sirius, Ginny, Ron and Molly's tempers.

Kingsley nodded and they hauled up an inert death eater each to side apparate, Hermione did not enjoy being in such close proximity to such evil people but she just tried to forget who it was. They arrived at the gates of Hogwarts and Hermione pecked Kingsley on the cheek before he disapparated with the two felons and she unlocked the wards and gave the password to enter Hogwarts grounds.

She went straight to Dumbledore's office, glad that most of the castle occupants were either at work or training in the room of requirement, she'd rather not be fussed over. She gave the password of 'Liquorice Wands' to the gargoyles guarding the Headmaster's office and was granted entry.

She realised she wasn't going to escape fussing when she entered the office to see Dumbledore along with Harry, Ron, Ginny, Sirius, Remus, Tonks and Molly. They all ran to hug her when they saw her, but inevitably began fussing when they saw the cut on her cheek. She cut them off with a wave of her hand, "it's just a cut, honestly, it's nothing terrible."

Dumbledore gestured to a spare seat and she sat down and began telling them all what had happened at the cottage and where Kingsley had taken the two captured death eaters. They all seemed delighted at the thought of having caught two of them, but they frowned when she told them how Goyle's 'sectusempra' curse had scratched her slightly and she had the feeling that poor Kingsley would be on the end of a few angry remarks, especially from Molly.

Hermione, in turn, assured them it was not Kingsley's fault and a mere accident. She also added that it was a perfectly fair price for capturing two of Voldemort's minions, ignoring how Ron and Molly flinched at the name. Dumbledore nodded his approval, though expressed regret that she had been slightly injured, and told them he would see to it that the two incarcerated death eaters were questioned by an Order auror so that they were kept up to date on all information.

Once their little meeting was over Hermione went down to the hospital wing with Ginny to get her cut seen to, Madame Pomfrey fixed it in about a second. She then arranged with Ginny to go to Hogsmeade the next day and Ginny promised to ask Luna and Tonks too since Hermione was going to the library to do yet more research. It had, in Hermione's opinion, being a rather exciting and altogether productive day.

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**As usual the next chapter should be up in a few days**


	9. Ambush In Hogsmeade

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are very welcome - I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy this chapter.**

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**Ambush in Hogsmeade **

Hermione felt rather relaxed, she was out shopping with Ginny and Luna in Hogsmeade, just having a girly day out. They'd asked Tonks to join them, but she had auror work and was rather disappointed not to be able to join them. Still, they'd promised her that they'd have another girly day soon so she was appeased.

They'd started out by getting some new robes in Gladrags, before heading to Zonkos to pick up some items that Harry, Ron and the twins wanted. Hermione had dragged the other two into Flourish and Blotts to pick up some books she desired and they had just finished stocking up on sweets and chocolate from Honeydukes.

Hermione had shrunk all their purchases and they now resided in her handbag, enabling the girls to walk along without unnecessary weight. Little did they know how useful this would be in a few minutes. They exited Honeydukes laughing and joking, but soon went silent when they noticed how quiet it all was. In all the years they had visited Hogsmeade, it had never been this quiet.

They soon saw the source of the silence, half a dozen death eaters were prowling around as if looking for someone. It soon became clear that the three girls were the target as one of the men spotted them and gestured to the others. Hermione looked from Ginny to Luna, both had terrified looks identical to her own.

Knowing she only had moments until duelling would become necessary, Hermione pulled out her wand and concentrated on the memory of laughing with Harry and Ron to conjure her patronus. She then pressed her wand to her throat and relayed a hurried message, before sending it off the Harry, praying that help would come soon.

She had just sent her message when a flash of green light came whizzing past her face and she whipped her head up. "Ginny, Luna, help will come but we have to fight for the moment. Just remember the D.A, think of this as another practice," she addressed her two friends urgently. The pair nodded and also drew their wands before the three split off, taking two death eaters each.

Hermione couldn't see how Ginny and Luna were faring as she shot spell after spell at the two death eaters in her sightline. She just hoped that others would arrive soon because she didn't know how long the three of them could last on their own.

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Harry, Ron, Sirius and Remus were practicing some duelling out on the Hogwarts grounds when the silver otter that was Hermione's patronus came to rest in front of them. They all looked up in shock, patronuses were only used in important situations and as far as they knew Hermione was just shopping with Ginny and Luna in Hogsmeade.

The patronus opened it's mouth and spoke in Hermione's breathless voice, "Harry, grab some of the Order and get to Hogsmeade now!! We've been ambushed by death eaters and I don't know how long we can hold them off." Her voice broke off and the otter disappeared. The men around it looked up at each other in horror, three girls were no match for a group of death eaters, no matter how strong they were.

Remus conjured his patronus quickly and sent a message to Dumbledore informing him of the situation and asking for reinforcements. Another flick of his wand and the silvery wolf patronus disappeared off to the castle while the four men made their way to Hogwarts gates as fast as possible, apparating to Hogsmeade as soon as they left the castle.

They ended up apparating straight into the middle of the fight and took a moment to asses the damage around them. There were six deatheaters and by the look of it the three girls had started by trying to take on two each. Luna and Ginny were both still on the floor with an unconscious death eater next to each. Ron and Harry ran to check on them, giving a thumbs up to a relieved Sirius and Remus that the two were merely unconscious.

Then they saw Hermione, who was firing spells at an incredible speed, but still rather outnumbered. There was one death eater on the floor, but she was still fighting three at once, dodging multiple jets of light. They could tell that she was getting tired and when they saw that Harry and Ron were taking care of the other two girls, Remus and Sirius ran over to try and help Hermione.

She gave a sigh of relief when she saw them, "thank Merlin you got here," she said as she dodged a jet of purple light, "I didn't know how much longer I could last on my own." She suddenly looked worried, "are Ginny and Luna alright?" she asked with concern. The men nodded their heads and smiled as they managed to stun another of the death eaters.

Suddenly a number of pops signalled the apparation of Dumbledore, McGonagall and Bill Weasley into the clearing. Seeing that they were now well outnumbered the two death eaters left standing disappeared before anyone could stop them and the fighters finally got to catch their breath.

The three new arrivals hurried over to the group, Hermione, Sirius and Remus having rejoined the other four, concern on their faces. Bill gave a cry when he saw his sister lying unmoving on the ground, "Ginny, is she ok?". Harry nodded, "yeah, both her and Luna are ok, it was just a stunning spell. Mione stopped them doing anything else by drawing them away to fight her."

Bill looked at the dishevelled Hermione with warmth, "thanks Mione, thank you for looking after them." Dumbledore nodded, "ah yes, excellent work Miss Granger, we can now interrogate these four and hopefully find out why they were here."

Hermione turned to Dumbledore, "er, excuse me Professor, but could I go back to the castle now, I'd really like to have a shower and rest please." Dumbledore nodded, "of course Miss Granger, you must be exhausted, Remus and Sirius could you take her back up to her tower please. Then Mr Potter and the two Mr Weasleys can go with Miss Weasley and Miss Lovegood to the hospital wing and Minerva and myself shall stay and wait for the aurors to get here."

Everyone agreed and all but Dumbledore and McGonagall set off for the castle. Bill had conjured two levitating stretchers for Ginny and Luna and Bill was guiding Ginny's, while Ron took Luna's. Harry started off by walking with Hermione, Sirius and Remus, profusely thanking Hermione for keeping Ginny safe and talking to her about the brilliant duelling techniques she had used.

Eventually he went back in front to keep an eye on Ginny and Luna, especially since Ron was liable to accidentally hit the stretcher against something if he lost concentration. That left Hermione walking in between Sirius and Remus, both of them shooting her worried glances, as if she might collapse from exhaustion.

She was definitely tired and worn out, who wouldn't be after spending some time fighting four at once, but she was content to just walk at a slower pace than complain. "Hurry up Mione or we won't get there till next week," called Sirius from a few metres in front of her. When he saw she wasn't going any faster he got a mischievous glint in his eye and Remus, walking next to him, just shook his head, wondering what he was planning.

Before she could even speak, Sirius had run back and grabbed Hermione round the waist, hoisting her up and throwing her slender frame over his shoulder. He then proceeded to jog back up to where Remus was, Hermione cursing him the whole way and screaming at him to let her down.

"I swear if you don't put me down right now Sirius Black you will never again know what it feels like to be a man." Remus gulped, if it was him then he would have put her straight down, she always seemed to make good on her threats, but Sirius never did listen. He merely smiled angelically at the brunette and continued to walk next to Remus with her slung over his shoulders, "look Mione, this is just easier than waiting while you walk at a snail pace."

Hermione just continued to mumble profanities until her eyes lit up and an evil smirk that would have made Malfoy run for cover spread over his face. "You know Sirius," she drawled, "I have the means to fetch your mother's portrait since it is no longer on the wall of Grimmauld Place. I'm sure you'd love to have her stuck permanently to your wall."

Sirius went white and Remus had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing, his mother's portrait was one of the few things Sirius would never stand for. Hermione was back on her own two feet before she could blink and she grinned triumphantly, choosing to ignore Sirius' muttered threats of revenge for even thinking of doing that to him. She knew he'd never do anything to her and so did everyone else because he was one of the many wrapped round her little finger.

They walked back to the tower laughing and joking, as well as stopping by the dungeons to get a muscle relaxant from Snape for Hermione since she was still a little tense and achy from the fight. She entered the tower by herself; Sirius had some things to discuss with Kingsley and Remus was heading to an old warded dungeon, it was quite late and a full moon that night so he was feeling agitated so soon to his transformation.

She flopped down onto one of the squashy sofas and found herself staring into the fire in front of her. Those death eaters who had attacked them had seemed like it was the girls they were looking for, or was it one in particular? She didn't know anything except that one or all of the three had been targets. She sincerely hoped it was just a random attack and not an attempt to get her because that would probably suggest Voldemort knew about her. That would mean that her own personal war would be coming sooner than expected and she didn't want that.

"Never mind that now," her mind told her, "it'll come eventually and you'll just have to let things unfold." Yes, that's what she would do, after all if what Dumbledore said was true then it was fate. Though she may not believe in the tea leaf nonsense that divination consisted of, she knew that there was such a thing as destiny and prophesies. For now she was just satisfied to stare into the flames in the fireplace and think.

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**So, we have the first proper glimpse of Bill in the fic - I know its only a small part. I'm afraid you've still got a while to go though, before romantic feelings come into play, as I said its an action/adventure sort of fic first and foremost, with some romance. Hope you enjoyed Hermione kicking death eater butt lol. **

**The next chapter should be up in a few days like normal.**


	10. Interlude: Ron

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are welcome - I love feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

**This is the first of the 'Interlude' chapters and from Ron's POV. It'll be a little more lighthearted than some of the previous chapters since I find Ron an amusing character a lot of the time.**

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**Interlude: Ron**

Ron woke up as late as he possibly could, he always had and it despaired his poor mother no end when there were things to be done or places to go. He also always woke up hungry, but then again he was a growing teenage boy. His brothers always said they never ate as much as him but he ignored them, his brothers liked to be annoying. Ginny told him he was a greedy pig, but she was always insulting him like that so he was used to it by now.

He'd risen that morning at 10 am and he was only up that early since Harry had dragged him out of bed to eat breakfast quickly and go check on how Hermione, Ginny and Luna were faring after yesterday's escapades. Ron, contrary to popular opinion, wasn't completely oblivious to relationships and he knew that when Harry mentioned the three girls names it really meant he wanted to use the attack as an excuse to spend all his time with Ginny.

Ron supposed he was glad that Ginny had Harry for a boyfriend rather than anyone else, at least he knew Harry was a decent bloke and wouldn't hurt his sister, at least not deliberately. But that didn't mean he wanted to watch as the pair were nauseatingly sweet together or when they got a bit heated in their kisses.

He didn't really have an interest in getting a girlfriend at the moment, he had spent a lot of his sixth year embroiled in a bit of a love triangle with Lavender and Hermione. Lavender was pretty and all, but way too whiny for him and she had a tendency to be sickeningly girly and jealous.

Hermione was pretty too, he knew that and he had thought he might fancy her for a while, but soon he realised she was just a best friend and found out from her that she was jealous not due to feelings for him, but because she felt a little left out and didn't want to lose one of her best friends to an over-clingy girlfriend.

She was also a bit worried about never getting a boyfriend, having only ever dated Viktor, so she'd needed a bit of a pep talk from Ginny. Both he and Hermione had laughed about their brief five minute attraction later on and they both knew they'd never be anything but friends, just as Hermione and Harry would never think of dating.

But anyway, back to breakfast, he did hope they'd have those pancakes they'd served last Tuesday, they'd been delicious. He, Harry, the twins and Neville descended the stairs to the common room at the same time as the three girls. "Morning, Gin, Mione, Luna," he said sleepily, acknowledging each with a nod of his head.

Hermione and Ginny shared a look and glared at him, "honestly Ronald," said Hermione in a voice scarily reminiscent to his mother's, "you can't be tired, most of us were up two hours ago being productive." Ron just ignored them, he'd learnt long ago that there was no point arguing with Hermione or Ginny, you could never win.

Everyone set off for breakfast, breaking into pairs to talk; the twins were discussing a new invention, Harry and Ginny were staring sappily at each other and Hermione was talking about the properties of some magical plant with Neville. That left him with Luna and he didn't know if he could handle Crumple-Horned Snorlacks and Nargles this early in the morning.

"Morning Ronald," said Luna dreamily, "what are you up to today?" Ron scratched his head as he tried to remember his schedule, "err, charms, transfiguration, some free time and then attack class. What about you?" Luna smiled, "the same as you, though I may use my free time to have a look round the charms corridor, there's a strange aura around there and I suspect that Nargles are the cause."

Ron sighed, there she went again with the Nargles, well at least she'd managed five minutes before she brought them up. Outwardly of course he nodded politely, "yeah, that sounds nice Luna, I might play some quidditch with the rest of them, though I'm betting Hermione will be in the library again."

Luna nodded, "yes, I have warned her that if she spends too much time there then the 'Dust Snoracks' will make her lose her concentration, but she didn't seem too worried." Ron didn't even bother asking what Dust Snoracks were, glad that they'd just reached the great hall.

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Luna went and sat down by Ginny and Ron made his way over to where Fred and George were sitting, there was no point trying to talk to Harry, who was making goo-goo eyes at Ginny. His mouth watered as he saw the breakfast spread and he began helping himself to everything, delighted to see that the pancakes he so loved were present.

He turned to George, whose plate was marginally less full than his, "you really should try these pancakes George, delicious." Ginny disentangled herself from Harry for a moment, "yeah well you should know Ron, you ate seven of them last time." The table burst into laughter and Ron was a bit put-out, so what if he'd had a lot, they'd been good pancakes. Anyway, 'waste not, want not' and all that.

After a couple of helpings of pretty much everything he was feeling rather full and incredibly glad that he had charms rather than attack first. They worked on non-verbal spells in charms and he was pleased with himself when he finally managed to cast 'accio' without saying a word.

In transfiguration they were given a lecture on animagus transformations, in case they wanted to try and become one in a few years for Order work. He almost fell asleep during that lesson, but it wasn't his fault that it was so boring and that he had no real interest in becoming an animagus.

He noticed that Hermione was paying close attention, but she would be attempting the transformation before them all. Malfoy, Ginny, Harry, Luna and Neville looked like they were trying to pay attention. Fred and George were doodling new designs for Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes and though Blaise was paying attention he did notice him stare at Luna quite a bit. Did he fancy her? He wasn't sure, but though Blaise was ok he didn't know if he'd like seeing the dreamy Ravenclaw with a Slytherin of all people.

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He was pleased to have some free time after the two rather tedious lessons. They all grabbed some lunch and then all the youngsters but Hermione and Luna headed off to the quidditch pitch, joined by Sirius, Remus, Kingsley, Bill and Charlie. They considered asking Tonks, but she had never been very good at quidditch, her clumsiness on the ground continuing on in the air. Neville went to sit in the stands and watch while the others split into two teams.

In the end they decided that since there were 12 and not 14 of them they would play with only one beater on each team. The first team had Harry as seeker, himself as keeper, George was beater and the three chasers were Ginny, Charlie and Remus. The other team had Malfoy as their seeker, Bill as keeper, Fred as beater and their three chasers were Blaise, Sirius and Kingsley.

The game lasted almost an hour and was very fierce, he noticed it took all of Fred's willpower to not hit his bludgers towards his two slytherin team mates, especially Malfoy. Ron, for his part, was thankful there were no Slytherin choruses of "Weasley is our king", it never did help his concentration.

Both teams were drawing on 140 points each when Harry finally managed to snatch the snitch just before Malfoy and there was great celebration in his team. Kingsley, Bill and Blaise didn't seem too bothered by losing, but Sirius, Malfoy and Fred looked sullen, they did take quidditch very seriously. When he'd mentioned this to Ginny she'd just rolled her eyes and told him that he would have been worse if their team lost. He wasn't that bad really, he just enjoyed winning.

* * *

He traipsed happily back into the castle for attack class, but he had to admit that playing quidditch right before it may not have been the best idea. He was exhausted from the game, as were most of the others and that meant the only people whose spell casting was strong were Hermione, Luna and Neville (who was improving in leaps and bounds), as well as Harry and Ginny who never seemed to falter in their hexes no matter how much exercise they had been doing.

After a tiring two hour session they were informed by Kingsley that there would be an Order meeting after dinner to discuss the attack in Hogsmeade the day before. Ron noticed that Hermione especially went a little tense, he couldn't blame her what with the chance that it was aimed at them because 'You Know Who' knew Hermione's heritage.

Still, he had dinner to look forward to before the meeting and regardless of whether anyone else had an appetite he was certainly going to eat, the training session had left him ravenous. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little sick after, he had no idea why though, he'd only eaten three helpings of chicken & gravy pie, a huge dollop of mashed potatoes, two sausages, vegetables, a hunk of bread and a dessert consisting of chocolate cake, trifle and éclairs, washed down with pumpkin juice.

Harry looked shocked when he'd voiced the question about his stomach ache out loud and Hermione just looked sickened, obviously neither of them were used to eating such big meals. Ginny of course decided to butt in with a comment wondering why he hadn't grown to the size of a house yet but he'd just told her that he was a growing boy and smacked her round the head lightly for her cheek.

Luckily the adults arrived to take them up to the meeting before Ginny could release her bat-bogey hex in revenge for the head slap.

* * *

Dumbledore called the meeting to order once everyone was comfortably seated and listening attentively. The meeting was only because of what had happened in Hogsmeade, at least as far as he knew. Dumbledore got straight to the point.

"Due to the attack in the village yesterday we have decided that there will be no more Hogsmeade trips for the foreseeable future. For anyone thinking of sneaking in another way," here he turned his gaze on Harry, "I have followed the advice of our two marauders and any passageways are blocked, including the one to Honeydukes."

His stomach sank, where was he supposed to get all his sweets from if he couldn't get to Honeydukes. No Zonko's either. He looked round to see how the others had taken it, no one else seemed too bothered, though he guessed that Hermione wouldn't like being unable to visit the bookshop.

Dumbledore ignored the small grumbles, most from himself and the twins, and turned to Snape. "Severus, if you could please explain what we have discovered about the motivations for the attack on the three girls."

Snape stood up and though Ron had no desire to listen to the greasy git he knew that the man had information and so he listened reluctantly. "I was summoned soon after the incident yesterday and the discovered that the Dark Lord had come upon the information that the three girls were in Hogsmeade at the time quite by chance. I did not know because I wasn't there at the time. The Dark Lord picked six of his followers and they were told to capture the three girls. The Dark Lord has still not connected the dots and remains unaware of Miss Granger's powers."

He let out an audible sigh, he'd been worried Snape would have bad news, but at least the death eaters were still unaware of Hermione's gifts. Everyone else seemed happier and Hermione was much more visibly relaxed now the stress had been relieved.

Dumbledore called for quiet and then motioned for Moody to stand, he definitely paid attention now. Not only did he think Moody extremely cool but he knew that with his magical eye he would be caught out if he didn't pay attention.

"Well the four scum were interrogated by Shacklebolt, Nymphadora and myself at the Ministry," he began, pointedly ignoring his protégée's annoyance and whispered complaint at being mentioned by her first name. "They corroborated Snape's story under the influence of veritaserum and were given a rather short trial before being moved to Azkaban after being convicted of possession of the Dark Mark, murder, attempted kidnapping and attempted murder. I doubt they'll be out any time soon." He smirked at the last part, everyone knew Moody loved nothing more than to nail dark wizards, the more the better.

Dumbledore nodded at the information, "good, good. Well I believe that is all for tonight, but I must urge you all to be careful, especially you younger ones. It would be best if you travelled in groups and Miss Granger, as much as it may pain you I don't want you anywhere at night or outside the grounds on your own."

He saw Hermione nod, well she wouldn't like that. Then again she never was one for midnight excursions like he and Harry were, unless it included the library that is. He groaned inwardly, she better keep any visits to the library to daylight hours, he didn't mind staying with her to keep her safe but, he'd prefer to do it somewhere he liked and not the library.

* * *

Everyone began to disperse and wander out in different groups. He saw Harry walk off with Ginny and knew he didn't want to witness whatever they were going to get up to. Hermione had headed off for a late night duelling session with Sirius, Remus and Kingsley and that was just confusing for him. He still couldn't comprehend why anyone would want to duel late at night, especially with three such powerful wizards. Then again, Mione could definitely hold her own in a duel, he'd discovered that more than once.

Blaise and Luna were heading off to search for some other magical creature that probably didn't exist, he'd learnt not to ask. Malfoy was talking in the corner with his mother and Snape. Neville had disappeared off to their dorm room to read some Herbology book. That left him on his own, just great.

Still, he thought as he headed down the corridors aimlessly in search of something to do, it had been a whole hour since he'd eaten his dinner. He'd never gotten to try to scrumptious looking toffee cheesecake that had been on the table, too busy with his other desserts.

"That settles it then," he said to himself out loud. He was going to kitchens and he was going to enjoy the huge slice of cheesecake the Hogwarts house elves would hopefully bestow upon him.

Of course he just had to make sure he didn't throw it all back up thinking about what his sister was doing with Harry in the girl's dorms.

* * *

**Well I hope you enjoyed that little look into Ron's head and the next chapter will be up in a few days as normal.**


	11. Occlumency

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are very welcome - I adore feedback of any kind.**

* * *

**Occlumency **

Dumbledore had decided that they would introduce the different lessons to control Hermione's gifts one by one over time to give her a chance to get used to them and ensure she wasn't overwhelmed. He had informed her during breakfast that she would be starting occlumency with Professor Snape that day and she was counting down the hours to her lesson, though hoping she wouldn't find it as difficult as it appeared Harry had.

Harry and Ron for their parts were shocked she would allow Snape to go through her personal memories and even Sirius and Remus had expressed some worry. She'd had to stop Sirius when he'd suggested it might be a good idea for him to have 'words' with "Snivellus" about what would happen if he messed too much with Hermione's head.

They all knew of the friendship that had been struck up, but none of them knew she was mostly comfortable with him going through her head, they had been working together quite regularly and were fairly comfortable around each other. Another thing was that she, unlike Harry, wasn't likely to end up in a pensieve full of Snape's memories that he didn't want anyone seeing.

The only memories she was worried about relieving were those she had after Sirius had gone through the veil, she had never felt such sadness and she didn't really fancy Snape seeing how helpless she had been, especially with how much he disliked Sirius. But she would deal with that once it came to it, hopefully without too much drama.

Severus had given her some books on the subject in her last potions lesson, he hadn't told her to read them and complete the mind exercises, knowing she would do it anyway. The only thing he'd said on the subject was that he sincerely hoped she'd be more adept at occlumency than "Potter" had been.

She certainly hoped so too, she did not enjoy the idea of Voldemort being able to invade her mind and see her every thought at will, especially since it featured confirmation of Severus truly being loyal to the Order. That would have severe consequences for not only Severus, but the entire Order and their work.

So she had been studying the books unfailingly each night, always clearing her mind before sleep and even practicing whenever she had some quiet time during the day, however uncommon that was for her. If this was anything else she would have felt more than adequately prepared, but this was Severus Snape. He had always pushed her the hardest of all her teachers and once they became closer during their potions work he had told her why.

He'd had to appear to hate all Gryffindors and that was true for the majority of them, she knew he saw most of them as reckless, arrogant dunderheads. But he said she'd been different, intelligent and not so reckless as her friends. He'd pushed her to keep up impressions and because he knew that she produced better work because of it. Once he'd told her she'd been pleasantly surprised, teasing him about actually having the good side Harry and Ron swore he didn't possess.

She only just managed to concentrate through the days classes, it was lucky she already knew the spells they were being taught and that there was no defence or attack class today because she would be unconscious already. Finally, after dinner, she got up to head down to the dungeon only to find Harry, Sirius, Remus and Ron all get up, Remus giving her an apologetic smile.

"What are you four doing?" she asked, her eyes flashing with anger. Remus looked sheepish, "don't worry Mione, I'm not joining them on this little escapade, if you'll excuse me I have some work to do in my quarters." He kissed her on the cheek and hurried away, clearly not wanting to see what she did to the other three if she didn't like what they were up to.

Ron went red and Harry mumbled a bit under her glare, but Sirius looked resolute. "We're coming with you to check you'll be ok with Snivellus and that he doesn't try anything." Hermione wanted to scream in aggravation, "you will be doing no such thing Sirius Black and neither will Harry or Ronald. Severus is not going to hurt me and I will not have your petty school boy prejudices jeopardising my chance to learn occlumency."

Harry and Ron looked suitably chastised, but Sirius still looked annoyed and she knew she had to resort to drastic measures, especially with the looks he'd given her when she'd called Snape 'Severus'. "Look Sirius, I am going to head down to the dungeons and you aren't going to follow me. If you try such a thing then so help me I will make sure the Black name ends with you."

Sirius winced, as did Harry and Ron, the former deciding it was best to pull his godfather away to leave Hermione alone. Satisfied her warning had been delivered effectively she finally headed down to her occlumency lesson, glancing at the clock and glad she wasn't late, Severus would never tolerate that.

* * *

She made it to the dungeons with one minute to spare and knocked on the door. Snape opened it and glared at her, "you are nearly late Hermione," he said with a frown. She gave a small shrug, "well Severus if I'd have known you were so desperate to see me I would have come earlier. As it was Sirius was being difficult at the thought of you going through my head and I had to use a little threatening to get him to back off."

Snape smirked, "how very Slytherin of you Hermione, I heartily support you and I suppose I'm rubbing off on you." She grinned back, "yes I guess you are Severus, but away from your love of seeing Sirius threatened in any way, my lesson awaits."

He nodded and led her through to a little sitting room past the potions lab they did their brewing in. He offered her the seat and she took it, though she gave the green and silver design a look of distaste. "So," he began, "I presume you read the books I gave you and practiced the mental exercises." She nodded, "of course Severus, when have you ever known be to not to work." A small smile quirked in the corner of his mouth, "never of course and so we shall begin immediately."

It was hard going to start with, his legilimency hurt her head and seemed to make her replay all the bad scenes in her life and none of the good. He watched as she sobbed in the bathroom, confronted a troll and saw Ron knocked unconscious by the giant chess set in first year. He saw the moments before her petrification in second year and running from Remus as a werewolf in third year. There were streams of memories from during the Triwizard Tournament in fourth year and Umbridge's reign of terror in her fifth year.

The came the worst memories; the panic she felt at being unsure of Sirius' safety, the battle at the department of mysteries and the realisation when she had woken up in the hospital wing that he was gone. She could see the tears and sobs that had come once she was alone so clearly. Scene after scene of her sobbing played out before her eyes and the pain kept building until it came to a head.

She screamed and suddenly felt a shield surround her memories and the presence invading her mind was gone. She opened her eyes to find herself on the floor, Severus' hand sticking out for her to take. Both were silent for a few moments when Snape spoke, "a reasonable attempt, at least you managed to repel me in the end which was more than Potter ever did."

Hermione nodded, tears glistening on her cheeks from the tears that had fallen without her realising as she relived the memories. He looked gently at her, an expression unusual for him, "I'm sorry for what you had to go through Hermione, I may not like the man but I understand the pain of losing someone close to me." She nodded, he was talking of Lily, he had told her a few weeks prior of his friendship with, and love of, Harry's mother and the sad circumstances ending it.

He handed her a bar of chocolate to eat before her next attempt, telling her he didn't want Madame Pomfrey to have his head. "Does chocolate cure everything," she asked, thinking of Remus giving it to them all after they'd experienced the dementors for the first time. Snape laughed, "I do believe it does Hermione."

She polished off the bar of chocolate and they tried again for another half hour. By the time their lesson was over she'd gotten through another two bars of chocolate and managed to repel his entry into her mind for five whole minutes. They were both pleased with the progress, as was Dumbledore, who had come to see how it had gone just as they were finishing up.

* * *

Snape escorted her back up to Gryffindor Tower, ignoring the Fat Lady's scowl in his direction. She smiled and said goodbye before entering the common room to find a group of six people waiting for her. Harry, Ron, Ginny, Sirius, Remus and Kingsley were all eager to see how her lesson had gone, though Hermione suspected a few of them just wanted an excuse to get angry with, and hex, Severus.

They were pleased that it had gone well, but Harry protested when she told him of the chocolate Severus had given her at different intervals. "Hey," he cried with indignation, "Snape never gave me any chocolate when I had to learn occlumency, it could have helped me. Why do you get it?" Hermione rolled her eyes, "perhaps because I do not take the opportunity to annoy him at every possible moment and I actually try to learn what he is teaching me."

Harry looked slightly mollified at her words as they said goodbye to Kingsley, Remus and Sirius. Still, she did hear him continue to harp on about Snape's unfairness to Ron as she and Ginny headed down to the library to do some charms work. She did wonder if they'd ever get on with Severus, she somehow doubted it.

* * *

**As usual, the next chapter will be up in a few days. A preview is below:**

**_Dumbledore stood and the smile Hermione had on her face from one of Ginny's jokes faded as she saw there was no twinkle in his startling blue eyes. "This meeting has been called due to my receipt of some news that will distress certain members of the Order, one in particular more than most. Just half an hour ago I received a report of the murder of two muggles in Oxford. They appear to have been tortured for some time with the cruciatus and various other curses before being killed with Avada Kedavra. A message was found written in blood on their wall."_**


	12. Black Monday

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are very welcome - I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter, but be prepared for very minor character death.**

* * *

**Black Monday**

It had started out as such a normal Monday morning, they were laughing and joking in the Great Hall when the adults all arrived together, now that was unusual. Another sign of something wrong was the looks on their faces, like they'd just received terrible news.

Dumbledore stood in front of them, eyes dull and face grave, "I am afraid I must ask for your attention, we have appalling news." That caught everyone's attention and there was silence as they let Dumbledore speak. "We received news just an hour ago of multiple attacks all over Britain, the large majority were oblivious muggle families picked out at random for 'sport'." He uttered the word with great distaste, "but I'm afraid we have lost some of the wizarding community too."

They were all on edge and Hermione had a sinking feeling she would know the people Dumbledore was going to mention. "I am afraid the entire Patil family was found dead, as were the Clearwater family and the Smith family. Only the Clearwater family were muggle, with their muggleborn daughter, but the rest of the unfortunate victims were half bloods or even pure bloods. However their families were all rather against Voldemort and I am sorry to say He chose them as an example."

Hermione was shocked, she knew the children in these families; Parvati and Padma Patil, Penelope Clearwater and Zacharias Smith. She had spoken with them, laughed with some and now they were all gone. It was as if the war was now constantly hitting home with her; the news of her heritage, the attack in Hogsmeade and now this.

"I ask that we observe a minute of silence for those lost through Voldemort's evil schemes," asked Dumbledore and of course they all obliged. Through the minute she tried not to picture the familiar faces she would never see again and felt tears fall down her face. She may not have been close to any of them, but she cried for the lost lives and wasted potential, for those who would miss them.

Once the respectful quiet was over noise came back gradually to the Great Hall as different groups spoke quietly of the depressing events of the day. Ginny was talking to Luna and Neville and so the trio decided to head back to their common room to talk in the quiet.

The walk was quiet, each of them brooding over the news and silently mourning the deaths. Once they entered the common room they sat for a few moments saying nothing, but then they began to discuss the deaths that had been announced.

"Zacharias Smith," Ron said with a tone of distaste, can't say I'm glad he's dead but I never liked the prick. Remember the D.A Harry?" Harry just nodded, but Hermione glared at him, "Ronald, shut up, you shouldn't speak ill of the dead." But she added on as an afterthought, "no matter how annoying they were."

Having sensed that Ron and even Harry would not concede to speaking too well of Zacharias Smith, Hermione decided it would be prudent to leave that topic alone and she moved the conversation onto another of the casualties.

"Clearwater, that includes Penelope doesn't it?" she asked. Ron nodded, "that prefect that Percy the Prat used to date." It was a mark of how badly Percy had screwed up with his family that Hermione didn't correct Ron for his language, but she was deep in thought. "She was the one with the mirror, who got petrified, back in our second year. That mirror saved both our lives that day, I've never been more thankful for vanity." She gave a short laugh, but it was devoid of humour in light of the deaths they had been informed of.

All three of the trio were affected by the Patil twin's deaths. Harry and Ron felt guilty about never asking them to dance when they had been their dates at the fourth year Yule Ball, even though it was so long ago. Hermione wished she had got to know them a bit better, especially since she had shared a dorm with one of them for six years.

* * *

The mood was sombre as they set off to their lessons, the Order had decided it was best to try and retain some sense of normalcy and so lessons were still on. However, they found that even Hermione couldn't concentrate on her lessons and my mid-afternoon everyone had given up on even trying to pay attention.

They were all sitting idly in a classroom around 3 in the afternoon, trying not to sink into sadness at the miserable mood everyone was feeling, when Professor McGonagall came into the room. "Attention children, there is an emergency meeting in the room of requirement right now, we have an urgent matter to discuss." The teenagers heaved themselves from their chairs and traipsed out of the room, talking among themselves and hoping not to be informed of more deaths.

"Excuse me Professor, but what exactly is the meeting about," asked Hermione, "nothing bad I hope." Professor McGonagall shrugged slightly, "I am afraid I don't know Hermione, only Professor Dumbledore is aware and he is waiting until the meeting to share it with us. Sorry I cannot put your fears to rest."

Hermione just nodded and they carried on to the room, Hermione taking the seat in between Ginny and Sirius. The room took a few more minutes to fill and Hermione discovered that Sirius was just as eager to find out what was so important that they had to call an emergency meeting for it.

Dumbledore stood and the smile Hermione had on her face from one of Ginny's jokes faded as she saw there was no twinkle in his startling blue eyes. "This meeting has been called due to my receipt of some news that will distress certain members of the Order, one in particular more than most. Just half an hour ago I received a report of the murder of two muggles in Oxford. They appear to have been tortured for some time with the cruciatus and various other curses before being killed with Avada Kedavra. A message was found written in blood on their wall."

He paused there and Hermione could tell that everyone was worried, the poor muggles, who would it affect most of all. But then she thought, she was the only one in the room who had two muggle parents … and two muggles had been found dead. She went cold and her eyes went straight to Dumbledore, who was looking straight at her, sympathy all over his face.

She stood up quickly, "no … no, it can't be. Please tell me it isn't true Professor, you can't really mean..." She couldn't say another word and was conscious of all eyes on her, finally piecing together what she was asking. Dumbledore sighed, "I am sorry Miss Granger, your parents, Edward and Anna Granger, are the muggles I refer to, they were found in their house this afternoon after the dark mark was set above the building. Thankfully the auror team were quick to respond and only a few memories had to be modified, all the muggles believe your parents died in a car accident."

Hermione choked as tears started, "you said there was a message, what was it, what did the bastards say?" Dumbledore looked grave, "I know your secret Hermione Granger, be warned. That is what it said Miss Granger." Hermione looked to the floor, "they were killed because of my heritage, because of me. This is my fault."

"No Mione, don't think like that, it's not your fault, it's Voldemort's fault. He's a sick son of a bitch and he kills for fun. Don't you dare blame yourself." Sirius was adamant, but his words were little comfort to her, she felt suffocated, faces all around her looking at her with sympathy, worry. But it wouldn't help, it would never bring her parents back to her.

She couldn't deal with the crowd, didn't want to try and think about her parents dead and a message written in their own blood. They'd been tortured, merlin, they must of endured agony, all because of her. She felt like she couldn't breathe, she pushed away the hands that tried to grab her, she didn't want it.

She heard Dumbledore's voice through the haze, "Miss Granger, perhaps it would be best for someone to take you somewhere quieter, or would you like to talk to someone." She shook her head vehemently, "no, I don't want to talk to anyone, I want my parents back, I need them. It's all my fault."

Dumbledore shook his head, "I'm afraid they can't come back Miss Granger, they are gone." She felt herself get angrier, her parents couldn't be gone. Her head was hurting, all she could feel was pain, like she was breaking down. She could feel herself losing control of everything, her mind and her magic; objects began to lift and fly round the room, crashing into the wall.

She didn't notice, didn't care at the damage she was causing, she couldn't control it, the pain was too much. She vaguely heard Dumbledore order everyone but her nearest and dearest out of the room for their own safety, nearest and dearest - there should have been two more in that number, but they were gone now.

The room span and objects continued to fly as she cried for her parents, for what she had lost. She felt herself losing energy and was finally able to begin to think. She had to control her magic before it destroyed everything. She managed to begin to reign it in, the process easier now her energy was diminished from her breakdown. She started to see faces more clearly, those who still remained; Harry, Ron, Sirius, Remus, Kingsley, Ginny, Tonks and Dumbledore. She concentrated on those faces and was eventually able to stop, watching as the objects previously flying round the room dropped unceremoniously to the floor.

She dropped to the floor, her body tired and her mind exhausted. They all surged forward as if to help her but she couldn't deal with that just yet, she had to mourn. She pushed herself away and caught her breath before pulling herself off the floor and onto her wobbly feet.

* * *

As she stood there she suddenly lost all semblance of tiredness and she knew what she had to do. She would leave the castle, she would find Voldemort and she would destroy him and all those that served because of what he had done. She would make him pay.

"Mione?" asked Sirius hesitantly, "are you ok now." She nodded resolutely, "I'm ok Sirius, I'll be better as soon as my plan is complete." They looked confused, "what plan Mione?" asked Harry with some suspicion. She looked him straight in the eye, "I'm going to find Voldemort and I'm going to destroy him for what he's done to me and my family."

She turned on her heel and walked swiftly to the door, swinging it open before they even registered she'd moved. A crowd of people jumped back away from the door as she walked out, startled when she didn't even chastise them for eavesdropping on those inside the room.

"Are you ok dear?" asked Mrs Weasley kindly, but Hermione just ignored them all, walking steadily towards the stairs, the only thought in her mind was to avenge her parents. She could hear voices shouting as those who had been in the room filled the rest in on what she said and cries of worry rang through the air.

But she didn't care about any of them, she managed to get to the entrance hall before they managed to catch up to her. Harry grabbed her wrist, refusing to let go as she tried to pull away. "Harry, please, you have to let me do this, it's my fault and I have to make Him pay." She didn't care that the tears were falling so thickly she could barely see where she was going, her voice muffled and her face red.

Harry shook his head, "I can't let you go Mione, we can't lose you. You aren't thinking straight, you're angry and upset, please just rest a little and you'll feel a bit better."

She couldn't think, didn't want to just sit back and do nothing. She seemed to stop struggling for a little while and Harry slackened his grip. The moment was all she needed to wrench herself out of his grasp, but to everyone's surprise she didn't head for the door. Instead she ran back the way she'd come, in the direction of the dorms, leaving a very concerned Order in the entrance hall.

"Should someone go and check on her?" asked Sirius with concern, "she might try to sneak out again." Remus shook his head, "no, she's more coherent now and with the first wave of emotion over she'll be more like herself again. She knows how pointless it would be to try and find Voldemort."

Dumbledore nodded, "yes, Remus is right I think. It's best that we leave her be for a while. She needs a little time to herself to process things." Everyone nodded and voiced their agreement, albeit reluctantly, and split up to go off and do different activities.

Harry, Ron, Sirius and Ginny spent the evening training in the room of requirement, obliterating many model death eaters to work off their anger at being unable to comfort Hermione. Remus and Kingsley discussed the deaths sadly over glasses of firewhiskey, Snape mixed potions with an underlying feeling of guilt because he hadn't known about the attack. Moody stared into his foe class, Tonks broke two dishes and Dumbledore sat pensively at his desk, deep in thought and sympathy for the poor girl who had lost both parents in one day.

Meanwhile, one teenage girl lay on her bed sobbing her heart out for the people she had lost and the destiny she had yet to fulfil.

* * *

**Sorry to anyone who didn't want Hermione's parents to die, but I had to show the severity of the situation and the legnths Voldemort would go to in order to capture her.**

**Next chapter will be up in a few days as normal.**


	13. A Day Off

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are very welcome - I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy and sorry this chapter is a few hundred words shorter, I normally try to have at least 2,000 words a chapter.**

* * *

**A Day Off**

Hermione woke up fairly late and when she checked her watch she realised it was 10.30 am. She should have been up for classes 2 hours ago, but she guessed that Ginny or Luna had turned off her alarm clock because they figured she needed to sleep in after the news she'd received the day before.

The thought of the news made her go a little teary, her parent's deaths had upset her greatly, but deep down it wasn't the shock she thought it might have been, she had been waiting for the news since Voldemort had risen again. She had tried to persuade them to go into hiding, but they refused to uproot their lives, she had after all gotten her stubborn streak from them.

She had spent hours crying, not wanting to see anyone, though she guessed she would have to today. Rolling out of bed she decided to get dressed and head down to the Great Hall to see if there was any breakfast left, if not she would have to go to the kitchens.

She went to the bathroom to shower, having another little cry before she cleaned her face and went to get dressed, pulling on the first things she saw, which happened to a pair of dark blue denim jeans and strappy red top, it was a rather warm day even though it was autumn. She left her hair loose and put on the silver charm bracelet her parents had given her for her seventeenth birthday.

She admired the bracelet, her parents had gotten it from Diagon Alley, one of their few trips there with her and each charm had a strong representation for her. There was a book for her of course, a scar for Harry, a chess piece for Ron, a tiny silver replica of Padfoot for Sirius, a wolf for Remus, a wand casting the bat bogey hex for Ginny (that one always made her laugh), a colour changing bauble for Tonks and a little silver ancient rune sign meaning friendship for Kingsley. The bracelet also held charms of Hogwarts, the school crest, a wand, a cauldron and a small silver heart that her parents had told her she should engrave the initials of her love into, when she finally found him.

She looked in the mirror and tried to smile, but failed miserably, worry clear on her face. She wasn't sure how the others would act around her now her parents had died, especially after her outburst of magic yesterday. But she was a Gryffindor and she knew that she had to face it head on. Squaring her shoulders she walked purposefully out of the dorm and towards the portrait hole, glad she had yet to encounter anyone.

Her confidence began to sag as she made her way to the great hall and she was curious about how she hadn't encountered anyone at all so far. Surely they couldn't all be in the great hall. She didn't know how she'd face them all if that was the case.

She couldn't hear anything when she reached the door to the great hall, but it was thick and so any sound could easily be muffled. She grasped the handle and pushed it open before she had chance to change her mind, shocked by what she saw when she entered.

The Great Hall had been slightly rearranged, instead of long tables there were a number of circular tables to fit a dozen people each and every occupant of the castle seemed to be present, all of them talking animatedly to each other. The noise stopped as the door slammed close behind her and they all turned to see who was there.

Harry, Ron and Ginny hurried forward, all enveloping their friend in hugs and dragging her to sit at the table with Sirius, Remus, Kingsley, Tonks and themselves. Hermione was rather puzzled at everyone still being in the great hall at such a time, but Ginny answered her queries without her even asking, "Professor Dumbledore says that with all the bad news we got yesterday that we deserve a break and so we are having a day off."

Hermione nodded as she sat down, still a little confused. "Wotcher Mione," said Tonks brightly in greeting, looking sheepish as she knocked over a glass, luckily empty. Hermione couldn't help but grin at Tonks, her hair was vivid pink once again in celebration of their day off.

"So what does this day off entail exactly," she was a little apprehensive, Dumbledore was known for being a little eccentric at times. "We don't know Mione," said Sirius, "but it's all going to be based in here and I heard there might be a bowling lane, I'm so looking forward to it." He looked like a child getting a huge present and she smiled at his excitement.

Harry rolled his eyes, "it's just bowling Sirius," but Sirius wouldn't be deterred, "I haven't been for about seventeen years, Lily dragged James, Remus and me a year or two after we left Hogwarts." Remus nodded, "yeah, she swept the floor with us, we just weren't any good at all." Ron looked confused, "swept the floor?" and Hermione leant over to explain the muggle phrase to him.

Sirius scowled, "I almost beat her and I'd never played before. I promised that her I'd win the next time," he broke off a little sad at the memory, "but I never got the chance." The table was morose for a minute until Sirius brightened, "still, I'm sure it'll be just as fun wiping the floor with her son," and he sent a challenging look at Harry, which the emerald eyed boy returned with a smirk.

Dumbledore stood and clapped his hands for their attention, "good morning, I thought we would have a day off instead of our usual training in light of the gloomy events of yesterday." He waved his hand a few times and they all watched in awe as the room changed before their eyes though leaving their tables exactly where they were.

The room appeared to have enlarged a little and as promised there was a bowling lane in a corner of the room. There was also an assortment of fairground rides, a mini cinema screen and various other muggle devices used for entertainment. "I have used a muggle theme since I believe it will amuse some of those who rarely see it," here he inclined a head in the direction of Sirius, who was looking around in amusement.

"Enjoy," said the Headmaster brightly and from the looks of it, that was exactly what the Order planned to do. She smiled at the scowl on Severus' face as the Headmaster dragged him over to the cinema screen and offered him the bag of lemon drops he was holding.

Sirius had a look of mischief on his face, "I think this place could use a little music," he spoke with a laughing tone and waved his wand a few times. Hermione was surprised as 'we will rock you' blared out of speakers that had appeared around the room, much to the amusement of most and Professor McGonagall's disapproval. "I didn't realise you knew Queen," Hermione commented and Sirius just shrugged, "Lily loved their music and so we had to listen to it all the time when she had that music machine muggles use in the common room."

Hermione listened happily, "I love Queen, they're one of my favourite bands." Sirius nodded approvingly, "you have good taste Mione, of course that comes of being friends with me," he spoke cockily but was soon begging for mercy as she tickled him.

She was dragged round everything by the others, most of whom knew nothing of muggle technology and wanted her to explain it all to them. They had a memorable game of bowling where Sirius did beat Harry as promised, but Hermione managed to defeat Sirius with 112 points to his 97. He scowled at that, but insisted she'd had more practice than he had.

Meanwhile, Queen's 'we will rock you', 'don't stop me now' and 'we are the champions' blared in the background and causing the walls to vibrate and Minerva to predict that the sound would cause the castle to collapse around them.

Many of them sung along to the songs, Sirius had picked them for their feel good nature and uplifting spirit. How could they doubt their victory in the war while singing such songs filled with inspiring lyrics and a strong, fun beat. Even Hermione, who had been so despondent after the news of her parent's deaths the day before, was laughing and joking with her friends as if she didn't have a care in the world.

Dumbledore smiled upon them all from his position in the mini muggle cinema, the day was going exactly as planned and everyone, especially Hermione, was managing to forget their troubles for a while, be happy and get their confidence up for the war ahead. They would definitely be needing it.

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**In one of the reviews I received for last chapter, 'Black Monday', I was asked what the deal was with Sirius and why he was so protective of Hermione and I'm going to give an answer here in case anyone else is wondering. This story will not be a Hermione/Sirius fic. It will eventually be Hermione/Bill and that isn't going to change. However, Hermione and Sirius have a lot of history together that will be explored in future chapters - there is still a while to go until it is revealed though, so I'm going to have to leave you curious for a while.**

**Next chapter - which will be an interlude from Snape's POV - will be up in a few days as normal.**


	14. Interlude: Snape

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are very welcome - I adore feedback of any kind.**

**This is only the second of my 'Interlude: ...' chapters so any of your opinions on the different points of view are appreciated. We've had Ron, now Snape and soon there will be a Dumbledore one up.**

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**Interlude: Snape**

He might be a teacher, but words could not describe how happy Snape was about finally having some peace and quiet, not having to deal with dunderheads who couldn't tell a dreamless sleep potion from veritaserum. Now he only had Hermione and Zabini to teach and they were thankfully far from stupid.

To his surprise he had struck up a friendship with the curly haired Gryffindor know-it-all and had discovered they were remarkably similar. She was rather amusing and unlike the general populace she wasn't afraid of him, but would taunt and tease him like she did with all the rest of her friends.

It was this friendship that led him to feel rather guilty that he hadn't known about her parents and the other ex-students to warn the Order. He knew that she missed her parents, the quiet in potion lessons was testament to this fact, especially since Hermione normally missed no opportunity to question things, one of her insufferable yet endearing qualities.

He noticed that after they'd had their 'day off' she had been in better spirits, but only barely. He didn't want to admit it, but he missed the old Hermione and wished she would return. However, though he seemed heartless to most Snape actually understood emotion rather well. It was a moment of emotion that ruined his friendship with Lily, one of the reasons he'd become a death eater and the emotion of love was what drove him to try and protect the Potter family.

He therefore knew that Hermione needed time to heal and though ill-equipped to deal with helping her, he knew she needed normalcy and that was what he tried to give her as much as possible. It took a while, but eventually she came out of her shell, even making sure he knew that she didn't blame him for what had happened. That had been a shock, but she had told him that she knew how many lives he had saved through his spy work before and that he couldn't save everyone.

He'd been extremely grateful for what she'd said to him, it had set him free of the consuming guilt of another pair of lives lost because he didn't have the information. He had a lot of that sort of guilt, along with the guilt he carried for all those he had killed to maintain his cover and most of all for when it was his information that led to the death of Lily Evans … and James Potter too he supposed. Well once Potter had defeated the Dark Lord and come out alive, at least he hoped alive, then Snape could go on hating the boy and his father after the promise to protect the boy was finally over.

* * *

He guessed it was fortunate he only had two potions students as it meant a lot less work for him, despite the huge amount of brewing he needed to do for the Order. However, Hermione and occasionally Blaise helped him with that so it was not as time consuming as it would be. He needed to be always available to the Dark Lord, who was under the false impression that with the school's closure Severus was out of a job and normally at his home in Spinner's End.

He counted himself lucky that the Dark Lord couldn't be bothered with checking up on his followers homes and took his word for it due to his trust in Severus. This, he thought wryly, was a grave mistake on the Dark Lord's part. So now he would go to the Dark Lord to present him with information he told them he'd 'scrounged up' while snooping around. The truth was it was information carefully selected by Dumbledore and himself to seem useful, but not really do any damage.

This was obviously a dangerous game he was playing and he'd been crucioed more than once when his information failed to be 'up to standard.' However, he normally delivered useful, but harmless information and both sides were satisfied with the outcome.

He also managed to feed little snippets of information to the Order that he had learnt from death eaters. His trick was to use his strong legilimency powers to see the thoughts of the weak minded death eaters. He then gathered information on plans only a select number knew about. This meant that the Order could prevent attacks and Severus, who had not been told anything by the Dark Lord, would be above any suspicion.

This method of gathering information had prevented multiple attacks on muggles and muggleborns. The Creevey family had a narrow escape when he'd discovered the plan only twenty minutes before it was to begin. He just wished he'd had this information when the Grangers, Patil family, Clearwaters and Smiths had were targeted. But their killers had been Bellatrix, Lucius and a few others with minds strong enough, and occlumency shields good enough, to stop an invasion into the mind.

He could have done it, but it would have alerted them to his presence in their minds and Bellatrix was already looking for any way to get him killed as a traitor. She only did it because she disliked his position of power, what would she say if she knew she was right?

* * *

He winced later that night as his dark mark burned black, ignoring the stinging as he had learnt to do over the years and grabbing his cloak and mask. He sent his patronus to Dumbledore before sweeping down towards the grounds, happening upon Hermione when he was just about to exit.

She noticed his cloak and mask and gave him a short nod of the head, "be careful Severus and be safe," she said softly and he couldn't help the slight smile at her words of worry. It was so rare for him to be told to be careful and remain safe, the only people to ever do it regularly were Albus, Minerva, Molly and Hermione. He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it in a vaguely comforting gesture and then disappeared out of the huge doors while she headed away in the direction of the library.

He reached the gates and as soon as he left Hogwarts boundaries he apparated to the Dark Lord's side, he would never call him 'master' unless it was required verbally. He moved rapidly into his place in the circle, on the Dark Lord's left, glad he was not the last one there. They waited a few minutes while the rest of the circle apparated in, murmuring apologies to the Dark Lord with trembling hands and hoping they would not be cruicioed for their unpunctuality.

The Dark Lord began when there were still two spaces not yet filled and soon explained the reason. "Bulstrode and Kavanagh will not be joining us again, they were incompetent enough to get themselves killed after messing up a simple mission, they could not handle aurors." He spoke the words coldly and without emotion, Snape knew he couldn't care less for these lesser men, especially if they couldn't defend themselves.

He felt a pang of guilt, it had been his information to the Order that had led to the auror's involvement and therefore the two deaths. But he could not afford to feel guilty over it, he felt enough of that emotion when he was unable to save the innocents like Hermione's parents, he didn't care to feel it over two evil men who probably deserved it.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he turned back to the meeting, it would not do to have his mind wandering in such a dangerous setting.

* * *

When he returned to his quarters he found a cup of coffee charmed to remain warm, black and no sugar just as he liked it. He picked up the note next to it;

_Enjoy the coffee and please try to get some sleep, if you fall asleep in our lesson tomorrow then I'll have to hex you. _

_Hermione_

He shook his head indulgently, only she would leave a note like that for him, he did appreciate it, she did it every time and it always helped him relax after tense, sometimes painful, death eater meetings. He would have to thank her, in private of course, couldn't ruin his reputation as most feared teacher in the school now could he.

Also next to the coffee was a paper bag of … lemon drops. He rolled his eyes, definitely Albus, he was always trying to get Severus to try those ridiculous muggle sweets he was so fond of. But they were entirely too sickly for him and he would never indulge Albus by having even one. He guessed he'd give them to Hermione tomorrow and if she didn't want them then he was sure Ron Weasley would be more than glad to have them, that boy just never stopped eating.

He picked up his coffee and downed it quickly, relaxing as the hot beverage warmed him up. He decided he would indulge Hermione and sleep for a good few hours rather than spend most of the night working on potions, he knew full well she would make good on her promise to hex him. However, he would read first for an hour, it was impossible for him to sleep straight after coffee and he really did want to reread the chapters on the wolfsbane potion before he attempted any variations.

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**I enjoyed this chapter, Snape is an interesting character to write and I tried my best to make him snarky, but slightly caring. However, if you want some stories with really good characterisations of Snape then read 'Changes in Heart' and its sequel 'What once was' by Lexi Lupin and then 'Phoenix Song or, Hermione Granger and the HB P' and its sequel 'Phoenix Tears or, Hermione Granger and the DH' by grangerous.**

**Thank you to all my reviewers, especially those of you who give a comment on most chapters, it's very much appreciated: diamond-helen, MISS'Hannah-MarieHale'BOOKWORM, Darkness-Lightness, LoveIt123, Readerforlife, Mwhahahaha18, elfsquire90, , amaramichelle & 8thWeasley.**

**As usual the next chapter should be up in a few days - Hermione begins learning wandless magic**


	15. Wandless Magic

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are very welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

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**Wandless Magic**

Wandless magic was difficult, that was for sure. Hermione had been practicing for a full hour and had still failed to complete a simple levitation charm.

Dumbledore had decided that she was getting along well enough with her occlumency to start trying wandless magic. He had therefore called her up to his office to begin learning and her elation at finally being able to try had fast worn down when progress was very slow indeed.

Professor Dumbledore had assured her that wandless magic was difficult indeed and that it took those who could master it years to learn in normal circumstances. Her gifts, coupled with the need to learn soon for the war, meant that she would be attempting to become proficient in only a few months. She was just glad it was Dumbledore teaching her, he was the greatest wizard of the century after all.

"Aaah, this is so frustrating, why can't I do anything Professor?" Dumbledore just gave her a kind smile, "Miss Granger it took me three solid weeks of practice to do even the simplest charm without a wand, don't be disheartened if you don't manage anything after the first few lessons, even with your gifts."

Hermione nodded, she knew not to expect too much, but it was just so unusual for her to meet a topic that she couldn't work out almost immediately. She'd only ever had this much trouble with her patronus and divination and the latter was a pointless subject anyway.

She turned back to the feather on Dumbledore's desk that she was supposed to be levitating and lifted her hand, focusing her entire magical energy on it and willing it to lift. Nothing happened for a minute and she was just about to give up when out of nowhere the feather moved. Only an inch of movement, not even off the desk, but it was something.

"Well done Miss Granger, you have successfully managed to move the feather and I think the levitation will come a little easier now," Dumbledore beamed down on her and she felt pride at her achievement. Checking his ornate clock Dumbledore started at the time, "my goodness Miss Granger, it is almost 10 o clock, we've been working for three hours. I believe we should take a break so you can rest."

Hermione nodded, "ok Professor Dumbledore, shall I come back the same time on Friday?" Dumbledore rubbed his beard in thought, "Friday, hmm, yes I believe that will be best. I shall see you then Miss Granger, goodbye."

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Hermione said goodbye to Dumbledore and headed out of his office and towards Gryffindor tower, before stopping to think for a moment and deciding to take a little detour. Stopping outside Sirius' quarters she knocked and smiled when Sirius opened the door, "Mione, what a surprise, do come in."

"Sorry to barge in on you like this Sirius," she apologised, "but I just had my first lesson with Dumbledore and wanted to talk to someone." Sirius nodded, "it's fine Mione, you can always come talk to me - I can't promise I'll always be sober but I'll do my best to help you whenever you need it."

Hermione laughed, Sirius had an infectiously happy nature most of the time and you couldn't help but laugh along with him, she only ever saw a serious Sirius when there was something truly wrong. She dropped herself down on the couch next to him, taking the glass of water he offered her.

"I can't help but wonder how it all came to this," she began, "it was always Harry with the destiny, not me. My lesson with Dumbledore has made me realise just how much I have to learn. It took Dumbledore years to master occlumency, legilimency and wandless magic and I'm supposed to master it all in a few months." She sighed and leant in to Sirius, "it's all just getting to me … this war is supposed to be bigger than just a few people but it seems like I'm right in the middle of it. I want to help but I don't know if I can cope with the pressure and responsibility that comes with these powers."

Sirius threw his arms round her and pulled her closer into a hug, "you've handled all this surprisingly well Mione, especially with everything that has happened recently." Hermione's eyes darkened at the memories of her accident and then her parent's deaths. Sirius continued, "it is only really rational that you start to feel a little panicked at some point so I wouldn't worry. We'll all be here to help you and with your brains I doubt you'll go wrong."

She smiled up at him, "thanks Sirius, you may be an immature child at times but you give good advice when it's really needed." Sirius just grinned at her, "I try my best Mione. Now why don't you show me some of the things Albus has been teaching you."

She grimaced for a moment, "wandless magic is so difficult and because its so advanced you can't even begin practicing with verbal spells, you can only do it non-verbally. I hate not being able to do it straight off." Sirius just smirked at her, "aww, does Little Miss Brainbox dislike feeling like the rest of us mere mortals who don't know absolutely everything." Hermione just shoved him playfully, "shut it you mangy mutt, at least I don't get fleas."

Their good-humoured arguing descended into a battle of the wits, followed by a tickle fight and finally they fell back into the sofa, exhausted. Sirius turned to look at her, "so will I finally get to see this wandless magic, now you've sufficiently exhausted me with totally false insults."

Hermione laughed, "I suppose you can see it now, though I warn you it isn't anything too impressive, I can only levitate something a little." Conjuring a white feather she placed it on the table in front of them and handed her wand to Sirius.

Tuning out the man watching her closely, she concentrated her full attention on the delicate feather in front of her. Slowly but surely it lifted up higher and higher, just as she had seen it do in her first charms lesson. She wanted to squeal with excitement, this was longer than she had managed during her lesson with Dumbledore, but she didn't want to lose her concentration so she controlled her rapture and focused on the feather.

Two minutes later and with her attention wavering she decided to finish and so she gently lowered the feather back onto the table before turning back to face her one man audience. He didn't disappoint, clapping enthusiastically in the true overdramatically Sirius like fashion.

She smiled, Sirius could be such a child sometimes, but in a way it was a good thing since he appreciated the simplest things and was always full of praise, even if he was a bit of a drama wizard at times. They stayed on the sofa chatting for a while until Hermione realised the time. "Merlin, Sirius its half one in the morning already, how time flies when you're having fun."

She leant up to peck him on the cheek and gave him a hug before disappearing out of his room's portrait and making her way to Gryffindor Tower, apologising profusely for waking the Fat Lady, but feeling relieved that she had managed to return without getting caught by one of the adults - she knew they didn't want her out alone, especially at night.

She knew she'd have to work on wandless magic a lot to master anything that would be truly useful in the war. But she would manage it, after all Hermione Granger was nothing if not determined, especially when it came to learning. But she had crossed the first hurdle by managing a simple wandless spell and she knew she'd started on magic that could very well save her life in the upcoming war and that was what led to her going to bed happy.

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**Sorry that this chapter was shorter than the rest, I just couldn't seem to find anything to write about.**

**Thank you to all those who reviewed my last chapter, 'Interlude:Snape'; elfsquire90, .sarah, Mwhahahaha18 & ReaderForLife.**

**Next chapter shall be an Interlude for Dumbledore and it should be up in a few days as normal.**


	16. Interlude: Dumbledore

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are very welcome - I adore all feedback. Enjoy the chapter.**

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**Interlude: Dumbledore**

Albus Dumbledore was deep in thought, not unusual for a wizard as great as himself. He had a feeling that the war he'd been fighting for over twenty years would not take too long to come to a head, he could only hope the outcome would be the triumph of the light.

It seemed strange, the fate of the wizarding world was not left in the hands of the aurors, the ministry or fully grown witches and wizards, but to teenagers; Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. He just wished he knew whether it would be one or both to give the final blow, if it was finally accomplished.

Still, no matter what happened they would have great power behind them. Ron Weasley completed their trio and they would have the help of Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom from the D.A that remained at Hogwarts. He chuckled at that, he was always fondly amused by the memory of the organisation that had been named in his honour.

Miss Granger was doing rather well in wandless magic, she had managed some simple spells in her first few lessons and he had hope of her progressing onto third year spells soon. Wandless magic was incredibly complex and even he hadn't managed to grasp it as quickly as the brilliant teenager had.

He glanced at the arithmantic equations in front of him, courtesy of Miss Granger of course. It was certainly more promising than previous calculations had been, still he was worried about the potential casualties the war could bring, even if they did win. They would have to work on advanced fighting techniques and possibly try to eliminate a few key death eaters before the final confrontation, but that could be looked at another time when some of the strategic Order members were present. For now he had a meeting with Severus.

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Dumbledore sighed as he watched Severus head down the stairs and out of his office, their meeting had run over two hours and there were still issues. Severus had returned from his latest meeting with Voldemort with news that he was still determined to find Hermione Granger, in fact he had become even more determined. However, the interest in the bright witch had yet to reach any type of obsessive level and so Dumbledore was not seriously worried as long as she remained safe at Hogwarts.

Still, for safety he had instructed Severus to delay any type of attempt to kidnap Miss Granger, discretely of course since they couldn't have Voldemort kill Severus for being a traitor. He hoped it did not come to the point where Severus would have to reveal his true alliances to protect Miss Granger.

Apart from that issue, they had discussed the allies Voldemort had managed to gain. Apparently the last two death eaters sent to negotiate with the giants hadn't come back alive and that brought hope that they would remain out of the war - Dumbledore doubted such bloodthirsty creatures could be persuaded to fight for the light side. The envoys Voldemort had sent to the vampires had come back with the simple message that the creatures would not fight at all and wished to be left alone. Voldemort had agreed to this and while many would wonder why, Dumbledore knew that vampires could be fearsome when provoked.

Charlie Weasley's contacts made sure that the Romanian dragon reserve (the biggest in the world) would remain safe from Voldemort's influence and he was grateful since the huge beasts could do a lot of damage very quickly. However, Dumbledore was still worried about the cost the war would bring - they'd lost so many already and it would be tragic to lose more.

* * *

Hermione had been learning occlumency with Severus for a little under two months and according to the potions master she was doing "rather well," high praise indeed from Severus Snape, especially towards a Gryffindor. But it seemed like the stoic wizard had built a tentative friendship with the girl, based mostly on their shared love for intellectual challenges and potions. He knew Severus was impressed by the fact that she solved his logic puzzle in her first year and brewed polyjuice potion in her second (yes, he knew all about that little escapade. She may have turned into a cat, but the potion had been brewed properly and just wasn't meant for animal transformations).

Yes, Hermione Granger seemed to intrigue and impress everyone she met and he could see why - she was intelligent, beautiful and kind. He could only hope she and Harry would be able to cope with the immense pressure placed on their shoulders.

Her first lesson with him on wandless magic had gone very well and she'd managed a simple spell without words or a wand. He'd heard the next day from Sirius that she'd visited him after her lesson and shown him what she could do, managing to levitate the feather for longer than before. They'd now had another three lessons and she'd continued to progress well, now being able to now only levitate, but complete over half the first year spell syllabus, moving through it all at an astonishing rate. She was a little disheartened at her inability to immediately master it, but as he had told her, magic as complex as wandless magic took time, even if one was a borderline genius. Yes, she was definitely the heir to the four founders, not that he'd been doubtful before.

* * *

He was still having some trouble working out the remaining horcruxes and it was bothering him. No matter how ready Harry and Hermione were they would never be able to face Voldemort for the final time until all the horcruxes were destroyed. The diary was gone, along with Slytherin's ring and Hufflepuff's cup. That left them with real locket to find, since they only had a fake, something belonging to Ravenclaw (maybe her diadem) and Nagini the snake before the final piece of soul residing in Voldemort could be destroyed.

The snake would have to wait until the final battle, from what he knew of Voldemort, coupled with Harry's visions and Severus' accounts, Nagini was almost never away from her master and when she was she was well protected. So the most important ones to focus on at the moment would have to be the locket and Ravenclaw's item. Miss Granger seemed to be researching during all her free time and he could only hope she would come up with something soon.

He too had been looking into it, specifically Ravenclaw's item since they at least knew what the locket was. He'd narrowed it down to Rowena Ravenclaw's legendary diadem, her famous diamond bracelet and finally the wizarding watch she had designed herself. Of course all items were recorded as 'lost' sometime during history, but the diadem had survived in the records longest, only disappearing from history a little over 100 years ago. That was where he focused most of his research, though it didn't seem to be getting him very far at the moment.

Well he would just have to keep on at it, whenever he had a few spare moments. But for now he would take a break and perhaps have a lemon drop or two … they were so addictive.

* * *

A few days later he called together all those who knew about the horcruxes, minus Mr Potter, Miss Granger, Mr Weasley and Miss Weasley, for a meeting in his office. He wanted to discuss the progress they'd made in their individual missions without the teenagers around to become worried or angry.

They all reported that the teenagers were working hard in their lessons, especially in attack and defence classes and that every one of them was now working at least at the level of a first year auror trainee, with some of them working much higher. They could all breathe a little easier knowing that the teenagers could protect themselves adequately, though they knew death eaters would be using unforgivables.

Moody had taken a leaf out of his fourth year impostor's book and had suggested to Dumbledore that they try and teach all the youngsters to throw off the Imperius curse as best as they could. Back in fourth year only Harry had ever managed it, but Moody hoped that since almost three years had passed some of the others might manage it too.

However, Dumbledore was reluctant to have unforgivables used, even by those he trusted completely and was still debating whether or not to allow it. He told Moody he needed another few days to think on it and Alastor had just nodded gruffly.

Sirius, Remus and Kingsley had been doing a lot of one to one duelling practices with Hermione and Harry, as well as a few group attacks. Harry had always been stronger at duelling, but under the tutelage of the three excellent duellers Hermione had soon caught up and by now they were almost evenly matched.

Dumbledore shook his head when Severus made his report to the room on Miss Granger's progress with occlumency and how long he thought it would be till she could progress to legilimency. Dumbledore had already heard the report, but it was important that the rest of those involved in the horcrux hunt (and therefore aware of everything that had to be accomplished before Voldemort could die) be told as well.

Of course Sirius had ended up snapping at Severus, accusing him of trying to addle Miss Granger's mind so she actually thought Severus a good person. Dumbledore fought the urge to give a childish eye-roll and he saw Minerva sigh tightly out of the corner of his eye. He decided it was best to intervene before the pair got out of hand, "Severus, Sirius, how many times must I tell you to leave childish grudges in the past where they belong. We have more important things to worry about. Sirius, please don't make unfounded accusations and Severus, could you try and not antagonise him."

The two men nodded curtly, though they spent the entirety of Alastor, Kingsley and Tonks' report on progress in the ministry in surly silence. When he dismissed them all after the meeting had finished and his office door closed behind them, he could hear the faint sounds of another quarrel beginning between the two argumentative men. It looked like they would never learn.

* * *

Dumbledore sighed as he sat back in his chair, wondering about what the outcome of the war would be. He caught a glimpse of his blackened hand , mostly covered by his purple robe sleeve. Thanks to Severus' quick thinking and Poppy's potions the curse had been broken, though he still remained with a visible reminder of how his reflexes weren't as quick anymore. He could only hope that he would be around the see the end of the war - and its hopefully positive outcome.

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**First, thanks to all those who reviewed chapter 15: Mwhahahaha18, Readerforlife, B. Oots and diamond-helen **

**By the way, when it comes to the horcruxes I am writing a story where Harry's scar is not the accidental horcrux. The only horcruxes will be the diary, ring, cup, diadem, locket, Nagini and the part in Voldemort.**

**The next chapter should be up in a few days as normal. It will feature the first proper appearance of Charlie Weasley, but remember he is only a friend, this will always be a Hermione/Bill fic even though we've barely seen anything of him so far. A couple more chapters before a proper appearance from him.**


	17. Tales Of Dragons

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are very welcome - I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

**Tales Of Dragons**

Hermione knew that, contrary to popular opinion, Charlie Weasley was rather shy around anyone but his family and close friends. Everyone saw the brilliant seeker or the brave man chasing dragons in Romania, but no one thought it possible that the reason he turned down a quidditch career in favour of dragons was that he just preferred the solitude and creature company rather than scores of adoring fans.

The first few years of her friendship with Ron and Ginny, Hermione knew next to nothing about Charlie, except that he was a dragon keeper in Romania. She saw him briefly during the Quidditch World Cup and after that he tended to be in Romania whenever she stayed at the Burrow.

She struck up a slight friendship with him in her fourth year when he'd come to England to help with the dragons in the first task of the Triwizard tournament. He'd given her pointers on helping to defeat a dragon and had also listened as she poured out her fears for Harry and her annoyance with Ron being a complete prat about the whole champion thing.

He had listened attentively, much more so than Harry or Ron normally did, and had calmed her fears with warm words and reassurances. He'd also cheered her up about Ron by telling her a host of stories about stupid things Ron had done (there were many of these incidents). Ron and Harry never knew why she always started laughing whenever Ron mentioned dogs, not realising it reminded her of the story Charlie had told her about a six year old Ron having an unfortunate, but hilarious encounter with a muggle neighbour's dog and it's rather sharp teeth.

He had returned to England when Hogwarts had closed in order to assist the Order and to be nearer his family. He would return to the dragons, he told her, when the war was over and Voldemort was dead. Even now she was living at the castle she didn't see him much, he kept to himself.

But he had helped sometimes in their training sessions and she would occasionally watch as he played quidditch with the boys, playing seeker against Harry whenever Malfoy wasn't around. Even for Hermione, who didn't really like quidditch all that much, it was thrilling to watch him play against Harry, their skills were almost evenly matched and some of their matches were better than any World Cup she'd watched.

He came and set next to her in the library sometimes, she researched and worked while he devoured books on dragons. He was incredibly enthusiastic on the subject and could sit for hours discussing dragons with Hermione. She found them fascinating creatures and had been even more interested after the first Triwizard task saw Harry battle the Hungarian Horntail.

She longed to talk about that first task with someone, but Harry didn't like to be reminded of the pain of the tournament and Ron hated talking about the time he'd doubted Harry and so that left Charlie. He didn't mind regaling her with obscure facts on dragons that she couldn't find in books and she soaked up the knowledge eagerly.

* * *

There had been a time, just as they'd all first moved into Hogwarts, when it seemed to many of the Order that Hermione and Charlie would end up dating. She hadn't seen him in a while and had a whole new set of questions on dragons and magical beasts to bombard him with, resulting in the relatively unsociable Charlie spending a lot of time with Hermione.

Hermione and Charlie laughed at these rumours, mostly the result of Mrs Weasley's deep desire to have Hermione become a Weasley by any means possible. It was wishful thinking on the Weasley matriarch's part, for everyone knew Charlie would most likely be a confirmed bachelor. Apart from his mother and sister, there were only two girls Charlie had ever been close to and they were Tonks and Hermione, both of them a friendly, sisterly type relationship.

Soon enough the dragon questions were answered and Hermione did not seek Charlie out with such urgency. However, she always enjoyed his company, especially when all she wanted was to sit quietly, an impossible task with Harry, Ron and Ginny around.

Mrs Weasley soon realised that Hermione and Charlie weren't going to get together and left them alone, much to their relief. Charlie often joked that his mother would try and marry Hermione to a Weasley … any Weasley, just so she'd finally be a legal part of their family.

That happened to be the topic of one of their conversations one rainy day, sitting in Charlie's quarters with Hermione helping him with a report on how the dragons from the reserve in Romania could help in the war. They were writing in silence, the only sound was quills scratching on the parchment and pages turning, when Charlie spoke. "I wonder who mum will try and pair you off with next Mione, she's so determined that you'll be a Weasley."

Hermione smiled, "well she can count you off that list, Ron too for that matter." Charlie looked offended, though she knew it was a big joke, "discounting me so quickly Mione, I'm hurt." Hermione just scoffed at his dramatics, "you remind me of Sirius at times Charlie, so overdramatic. Anyway, we all know you're not gonna settle down any time soon, if ever. You love your dragons too much."

Charlie nodded, "true of course, dragons are so much simpler than us humans and our dratted emotions, a lot less hormonal that a PMSing woman too." Hermione just smacked him on the arm as he continued on with the list of Weasley's Hermione could get paired with, "she won't pick Percy either," Charlie continued on. "The pompous prat still hasn't come to his senses and even though mum insists it's only a matter of time I think he's too big of a prick to admit he was wrong any time soon."

Hermione grimaced at the thought of dating Percy, "I know he's your brother and all Charlie and I did think he was great at first; studious and dedicated, but he takes it to the levels of ridiculous. I still can't get over the fact that he walked out on your family and believed a corrupt ministry over his own family." Charlie just shrugged, "Percy has always been ambitious and that's all we can really say about it."

They sat for a moment, contemplating Percy's rather poor choices, until Charlie began to list the remaining possible Weasley brothers, "so we've wiped three off our list of Weasley's eligible for your hand," Charlie told her, "so that leaves us with Fred, George and Bill."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, "Fred or George? You have got to be kidding me." She knew she would never consider dating one of the twins because although she got on well with them, she knew they would drive her mad eventually with all their tricks, plus she didn't fancy being a Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes test subject.

A lot of girls wouldn't date one of the twins because they'd insist it would be dating the other brother too. But Hermione knew the differences between them - that Fred was slightly more obnoxious, George had a cluster of freckles on his right shoulder that Fred didn't and that they both preferred to be known by their names rather than 'one of the Weasley twins'. But Hermione's scruples about dating either of them were more about the fact that they had entirely different personalities and while it made them good friends, she knew she'd never be happy dating either of them.

* * *

Charlie grinned at her when she made it clear that Fred and George were out of the question, "well Mione, that leaves only one eligible bachelor … Bill." Hermione immediately turned pink at the name, there was nothing wrong with Bill at all; handsome, kind, strong, intelligent … she stopped that train of thought instantly. Bill was Ron's older brother, he was nine years her senior and incredibly cool, why would he even look at her in that way, she was just his little brother's best friend.

And why was she even considering it, she hadn't noticed Bill all that much before, except when she'd seen him during the battle at Hogwarts at the end of her sixth year, when he'd been mauled by Greyback. She shook herself quickly from her thoughts; Bill would never think of her in a romantic light so there was no point considering it.

When she looked up again she saw Charlie with a knowing grin on his face, "aww Mione, I think you like the idea of being with Bill." She threw him an incredibly dirty look and he just backed away, hands up in defence but a smile still present on his face and looking an awful lot like Fred and George after one of their pranks. "Fine Mione, deny it all you want but I know there's some part of you that likes my brother in a more than friendly way, but don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

Hermione huffed, "there's no secret for you to keep safe Charlie, I don't like your brother in that way and if you insinuate it again then I'll hex you from here to Romania." Charlie just nodded and wisely kept his mouth shut, he knew better than to annoy her when she was angry, he'd heard all the stories from Harry and Ron about her temper.

"Now," she said to him, "can we get back to the dragons please Charlie. What do you know about the Chinese Fireball, I saw it at the Triwizard Tournament but I was more worried about Harry so I only really paid attention to when he was up against the Horntail."

Charlie smiled, "well I'd be worried too if my best friend was facing a Horntail without any experience with dragons. Now, the Chinese Fireball is also known as the Liondragon and is native to China. It is scarlet and smooth scaled with a fringe of golden spikes around its face. The Fireball's snout is stubby, and it has protruding eyes. It's name is derived from the mushroom shaped flame emitted through …"

She lost track of Charlie's description as her mind flitted back to the thought of Bill, he was the perfect kind of guy for her if she thought about it. But no … she did not like Bill, would not like him, especially since he'd never like her back. Now if only it was as easy to forget him as it was to think of him.

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**All information concerning the Chinese Fireball was found on the Harry Potter wiki site and I take no credit for it.**

**Thank you to those who reviewed the previous chapter; B. Oots, Mwhahahaha18 and LoveIt123**

**If you are interested in any stories I have written or which are coming after this one then visit my profile page. I have a list of completed stories, ongoing stories and future stories at the top of my profile page.**


	18. RAB

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are very welcome - I absolutely adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

**R.A.B**

To say Hermione was frustrated was an understatement, she had searched high and low in the records of Hogwarts library and she still had not discovered the identity of the elusive R.A.B. She knew that everyone in the Order had great faith in her abilities, but she had begun to become disheartened.

Harry kept telling her that she would discover it soon, but she could tell he was getting a little impatient. It annoyed her sometimes, she was always the one expected to do the research and normally she didn't mind, she liked it, but it was nice to get some occasional encouragement and help. The only time Harry or Ron helped was when she forced them to and then they were more of a hindrance.

Kingsley and Remus had tried helping out every now and then, but while both were excellent scholars, neither had the patience necessary to work constantly as she could. She didn't even bother asking Sirius or Tonks, the former, while extremely bright, was too immature and the latter was just too excitable and hyper to be of much help.

Therefore the task tended to fall to Hermione alone and that was what led to her being cramped up in the library, surrounded by papers, quills and pots of ink, on a beautiful sunny day. She could see the boys, Ginny and Tonks playing quidditch outside. It was technically their free time, but Hermione had little time for the horcrux research and needed every bit of free time.

She knew that R.A.B was almost certainly a death eater with a motive for a change in heart. She also knew that they were probably dead. But that was all she really had to go on. She was just about to hit her head against a particularly heavy book when it hit her - how could she not of thought of it before.

Sirius had a younger brother and his name was Regulus - Regulus Black. But she didn't know his middle name and for that she needed the 1970's school roster. He was younger than Sirius, who had matriculated around 1978. His brother couldn't have been more than 7 years younger and so Hermione went to the Slytherin lists from 1978.

"Please, for the love of Merlin, please have a middle name beginning with A," she muttered under her breath as she flicked through sheaves of parchment. Finally she found it, a fourth year in 1978 - Regulus Arcturus Black. "Yes," she almost shouted it.

She needed to find Harry and Ron, Sirius too and Remus. She knew they were all outside playing quidditch and she was glad they were together, it saved having to find them all. Waving her wand to send the papers back to their original spot she packed her things away and headed outside.

She saw that they'd finished up and waved to them as she headed nearer. When she reached Harry she broke into a huge smile, "Harry, I think I've got it." "Got what Mione," he asked with a puzzled look. "R.A.B Harry," she answered, I need to talk to you, Ron, Sirius and Remus."

Harry's face lit up, "you mean it Mione, that is so great. I'll go get them, meet us by Sirius' quarters in ten minutes." She sniffed him cautiously, "better make it fifteen minutes Harry, you lot need a shower because you stink." He laughed and ran off, waving to her quickly.

She ambled over to Sirius' quarters since they weren't far and she had a little time to kill, spending the walk wondering what Sirius would make of the information she had found. He seldom spoke of his deceased younger brother and all she knew was that he was a death eater who tried to turn away from Voldemort and was killed for. Sirius had once expressed some regret that he had not been able to help his brother and Hermione hoped that the information that Regulus had been trying to destroy Voldemort might make him feel a little better.

* * *

She was waiting outside Sirius' quarters when he arrived with Harry, Ron and Remus in tow five minutes later. Harry was beaming, while the other three just looked a little bemused, confirming to Hermione that Harry hadn't told them the reason for their little impromptu meeting.

Sirius looked down at her, "so is anyone going to tell me why you interrupted the quidditch game my team was winning to have a meeting in my rooms that Harry won't tell me anything about?" Ron just shrugged and when Sirius turned to look at Remus his best friend shook his head, "sorry Padfoot but I'm as much in the dark as you are. Why don't you just ask Mione here."

All eyes turned to Hermione, who rolled her eyes, "can we at least sit down before you all start the Spanish inquisition," she asked. Both Sirius and Ron looked bemused until Remus took pity on them, "it's a muggle saying … she just means before you start bombarding her with questions."

Sirius and Ron nodded in understanding before Sirius opened his chambers and they all sat down on the sofas, turning expectantly towards Hermione. She turned to Sirius and began hesitatingly, "I don't know how you'll take this Sirius, but it's about your brother."

There was silence, Sirius' eyes looked suddenly haunted, probably the closest she'd ever get to seeing what he'd been like in Azkaban, excepting the time he met Peter in the Shrieking Shack in their third year. Remus looked worried, while both Harry and Ron looked confused since they knew almost nothing about Regulus Black.

Hermione knew a little more, small things that Sirius had mentioned to her, enough to get the gist. Sirius and Regulus had been inseparable before Sirius went off to Hogwarts. When he was sorted into Gryffindor Regulus had insisted to his older brother that he would go there too. But when Regulus arrived three years later and was sorted into Slytherin, things got more difficult. Their parents ignored their 'traitorous' Gryffindor son, while lavishing attention on their dutiful Slytherin one, causing a rift between the brothers that grew as Regulus fell in with the darker Slytherin crowd and began seeing more and more of their graduated cousin Bellatrix.

By the time Sirius had graduated the two brothers had grown so far apart they barely spoke and when they did it was often to just exchange insults. Regulus had fallen in with Voldemort and that was the last Sirius had heard of him until he discovered that his younger brother was dead.

* * *

Hermione turned to Sirius and after a few gestures and a silent conversation only discernable through their eyes, Sirius nodded and Hermione explained what she knew to Harry and Ron, while Sirius and Remus listened to the familiar story. Her two best friends took it in silence, nodding and only throwing Sirius the pitying look he loathed once.

When she was done Harry spoke quietly, "why are you telling us this Mione, what does it have to do with the horcrux and R.A.B?" Remus looked up sharply at the mention of the horcrux, while Sirius had a look of contemplation on his face. Hermione was about to answer Harry's question when she saw understanding dawn in Sirius' eyes and she nodded to him. Sirius gulped, "R.A.B … Regulus Arcturus Black. My little brother stole the real locket."

Harry, Remus and Ron's eyes widened as Hermione nodded, "that is what I've concluded, it all fits so perfectly that it must be the truth." Sirius, who still remained rather gob smacked, just nodded, "does this … does this mean that my brother turned away from Voldemort in the end?"

Hermione gave him a smile, "I think, Sirius, that he did. After all why else would he have stolen the locket. His note clearly stated that he wished to see the end of Voldemort and to help do it himself." Sirius gave a rather depressed smile, "well at least I know that the brother I remember from my years before Hogwarts was still there … however deep down that part of him was buried."

Hermione nodded and gestured to Harry and Ron to stand up, "we'll leave you to take in what you've just learnt, perhaps Remus will stay with you," she said and Sirius nodded at his best friend. She turned to Harry and Ron, "come on you two, we need to go tell Dumbledore what I found out, he'll probably call a meeting soon, for those of us who know about the horcruxes."

She gave Sirius a hug and kissed him on the cheek, before hugging Remus and disappearing out of the door with Harry and Ron, leaving Sirius to work through the information he had just been given about his younger brother.

* * *

The next day Dumbledore called a meeting for all those involved in the horcrux hunt. Hermione, Harry and Ron had gone to him with the information straight from Sirius' quarters, but the wise wizard had correctly guessed that Sirius would want time to process the information and so he had held off the meeting for a day.

There had been a little awkwardness while Dumbledore explained a little about Regulus and the information that they had come about. No one wanted to pity Sirius, for he abhorred pity towards himself, but they were not heartless and all were sorry for the fact that Regulus had died trying to bring down Voldemort. Still, underneath the sadness radiating from Sirius there was also a little happiness, he finally had closure and he could remember his brother as a boy who died doing the right thing, rather than a cowardly death eater.

Everyone was pleased to finally discover who R.A.B was and Hermione felt herself blush many times during the meeting when people congratulated her on discovering his identity, praising her research skills. But it wasn't so much that she had finally solved the mystery that made her happy, it was more the fact that Sirius finally knew the true and full circumstances of his brother's death and Hermione knew it would help him heal a little bit.

Of course, though they had worked out who R.A.B was the big question remained: where exactly was the real locket now?

* * *

**Do not fear, the horcrux locket will not be forgotten, but explored next chapter, which should be out in a few days as normal.**

**I'm sorry that there is no Bill in this chapter and I'm afraid he probably won't be appearing next chapter either, since that will detail the search for the locket horcrux. However, he should probably appear in the chapter after that so do not fear. We are soon approaching the beginning of their relationship - just a few chapters to go until you get some Hermione/Bill.**

**Thanks to all those who reviewed the previous chapter: Mwhahahaha18, SweetSweetRevenge, and Readerforlife**


	19. Grimmauld Place

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constuctive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome - I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

**Grimmauld Place**

Now that the Order knew what the next horcrux was, it was only a matter of finding and destroying it. Therein lay the problem since, while perfectly capable of destroying it, they had yet to find the mysterious locket. Still, knowing who had taken it made it a little easier for them. After hours of discussion between those in full knowledge of the nature of horcruxes they finally came to the conclusion that it was in Grimmauld Place. Hermione's arithmantic equations, combined with her muggle logic, worked out that there was a 95% chance the locket would be in Grimmauld Place and that was good enough for the Order.

Ginny remembered a heavy locket they couldn't open, engraved with an 'S' and they discerned that this was the object they were searching for, especially since Regulus would have had access to the house to hide it there. Sirius, Kingsley and Moody paid a little visit to Mundungus Fletcher, who had raided the house after Sirius' supposed 'death' and found he had no locket in his possession and never had.

The only problem would be getting into Grimmauld Place now, they'd had to abandon it after the ministry began being infiltrated with death eaters and they knew it was only a matter of time before they found the deeds, came to the conclusion that it was an Order house and raided it.

They had moved to Hogwarts as soon as possible and their fears had been confirmed when Severus told them death eaters had broken the wards and ransacked the house three days after they'd left it. But they had no reason to care about a little locket, as far as Voldemort was concerned it was safe in the cave and they knew he wouldn't have mentioned it to any of his death eaters - he just didn't trust them enough.

Still, Voldemort always had a few death eaters on guard around the place in case someone from the Order came back for something and that meant getting in unnoticed would be extremely difficult. They had a lot of planning to do and that was where Hermione was in her element.

She became absorbed in the huge amounts of planning involved, carefully and meticulously making notes and using arithmantic equations to calculate the odds that they would avoid trouble using certain plans. They also needed to decide the size of the group they were taking, it had to be big enough to defend itself, but not large enough to catch the attention of the death eaters easily. In the end they decided that Hermione, Harry and Ron would go with Moody, Remus and Tonks. Sirius had begged to go on the mission, but everyone thought it best that he stay away from the Most Noble House of Black, just in case he couldn't handle the memories. They all remembered how depressed he'd been cooped up there during the trio's fifth year.

Sirius had kicked up a bit of a fuss, but he had conceded to agree in the end and Hermione had breathed a sigh of relief because Sirius' sulks could go on for a very long time if he had the inclination. So it came to be that the six people heading out to Grimmauld Place met at the Hogwarts gates at four in the afternoon on an overcast day two weeks after Hermione had discovered the identity of R.A.B.

They were all dressed in black for two reasons - the first was that it would help them blend in and remain unnoticed and two, ever since Tonks had heard about the muggle James Bond films she'd gone on about spies and insisted that they all wear black on their missions. Though the idea did have merit, Hermione guessed that Moody only agreed because Tonks, as his protégé, was one of the few people he truly liked.

* * *

Hermione was hoping that this mission would go well, after all she had been rather key in the planning and she wanted to deserve their trust in her. The plan was rather simple, they were to get to Grimmauld Place around half four in the afternoon as that would be when it would be getting dark (since it was winter). Harry would be using his invisibility cloak and he could fit one other person under. They'd decided that this person would be Hermione since she was the one who needed protecting as much as Harry, what with Voldemort's desire for her power. The rest of them would use disillusionment charms and hope that the darkness covered anything that could give them away.

Still, all this was more of a precaution, since they would all be apparating directly onto the top step of Grimmauld Place, one at a time, where they would hopefully be able to re-erect some wards strong enough to keep the death eaters out for the few hours they would need to search.

Snape had told them that this was a day when there would be a few less guards than usual, due to some revel Voldemort was holding. Hermione had tried to keep the disgust off her face when she thought about what those revels would mean for innocent witches, wizards and muggles alike. She hoped Snape wouldn't have to get involved, he was always so depressed for a few days after a particularly bad revel.

But no matter how few guards there were, they would always need to be careful as any one of the death eaters could summon a small army's worth with just a touch of their dark mark. That was why she was breathing heavily, nerves almost getting the better of her, while she waited her turn to apparate.

Both Remus and Tonks had already gone, followed by Harry, when Hermione spun around with 'destination, deliberation and determination' in her mind. She landed on the top step, wobbling slightly, before a hand grabbed her and pulled her inside the dark house.

Once the hand let go she pulled her wand out and spun round, sticking it in the unknown person's face. She sighed with relief when Tonks' face came into view, but still asked the security question, "what is the face that Ginny and I love you to morph into the most?" Tonks grinned down at her, "the pig one of course," and she morphed her face to that particular image just to prove the point since polyjuice couldn't work for metamorphagus'.

Hermione nodded and turned her wand onto Remus and Harry, who had just come into view, but Tonks waved her off, "don't worry Mione, I already checked those two." Hermione nodded and gestured to Harry, "come on, we'll go check the sitting rooms and the library and leave these two to wait for the others. I'm sure they'll find something to … occupy their time, while they're waiting." She grabbed Harry and dragged him off, only turning back to give the blushing Remus and Tonks a wink.

* * *

Hermione was giggling to herself as she and Harry finally reached the library and she looked at Harry, "what do want to bet that Moody will end up shouting at the two of them because he's found them in some sort of compromising position."

Harry laughed, "probably 100% likely," he told her and they both broke out in hysterics a moment later when they heard the familiar growl as Moody began ranting about propriety and keeping your head in the mission. They were still doubled over when Ron joined them, "so you guessed that Moody caught Remus and Tonks?" he questioned them and their only answer was a nod as they continued to laugh.

When they'd finally deigned to control themselves, not wanting to be on the receiving end of Moody's next lecture, they began the job of searching the library from top to bottom. In hindsight, Hermione realised it probably hadn't been the best idea for her to help search the library, with so many ancient tomes waiting to be read by the eager bookworm. Luckily she had Harry and Ron to drag her away from the hundreds of fascinating books and keep her mindful of their search and the limited time they had.

It was nice, Hermione thought as they searched the hidden nooks and crannies of the room, nice to spend time with Harry and Ron with no one else there. She felt a bit guilty at the thought that maybe she had been neglecting them a bit. She'd been so caught up in lessons and research that the trio had barely had a few moments with just the three of them together.

So she enjoyed it, the gentle, teasing banter between the three of them as they searched. They caught up with each other, a strange thing to do since they were living in the same place. It was an easy, free conversation, full of Harry's relationship with Ginny, Hermione's lessons, Ron's quidditch (and food of course) and empty of all mentions of the war and Voldemort, the sort of conversation they used to have back before it all came to a head and the war really reared its ugly head.

* * *

Three hours later and the trio had covered the library, the drawing room and the sitting room. Moody, Remus and Tonks had covered most of the other rooms, but they were still no closer to finding the locket and becoming rather disheartened.

Hermione was the one who thought of Kreacher and his nest, she was always the one who paid most attention to the house elves, what with her previous S.P.E.W campaign. Though she had since given it up, realising that most house elves were very happy, she still smacked Ron round the head when he insinuated that this was the only time S.P.E.W would ever be useful. "Oww Mione," he whined, "that hurt you know."

Hermione just smirked at him as they all headed towards Kreacher's nest, hoping the locket would be there. Kreacher had been sent to work as a house elf at Hogwarts once they abandoned Grimmauld Place and they hoped he hadn't decided to take the locket with him, knowing they'd never get his precious Regulus' possession off him if he had it.

Harry was allowed to do the honours of checking the cupboard that was Kreacher's nest, if you could really call it an honour. Harry had wrinkled his nose and told Hermione that since she had worked it out, she should check. However Hermione had a comeback for that and told him that since she worked it out she could pick the one to check and she'd chosen him.

Harry had looked like he was about to complain, but Hermione practically shoved him into the cupboard and he just did as he was told. Two minutes later he emerged with a disgusted, but triumphant look on his face. Though he seemed like he was about to be sick, he held a gold locket emblazoned with an 'S' up and they all smiled in relief.

Harry hurriedly passed the locket to her, before pushing past them all and dashing in the direction of the bathroom, muttering something about "being sick". She couldn't blame him really, all she'd gotten was a quick smell of Kreacher's den and that had made her almost want to hurl.

It was Moody, as always, who drew the attention away from the celebration and back to the mission. He motioned to the window and they all saw that the death eaters had some more reinforcements, many of them making some complex wand movements. That told them that they had little time and so they put their exit strategy into place.

They waited till Harry returned and they were all assembled in the hallway before Moody, Tonks and Remus removed the wards (which had included anti-apparition) in one swift movement and then they all disapparated to the Hogwarts gates at exactly the same time, eager to find Dumbledore and assure him of their success.

* * *

The locket was destroyed two days later by a team of eight; Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Kingsley, Sirius, Moody, Remus and Tonks. This horcrux had many more enchantments than the cup had and it was also a darker, more dangerous magic. The Order had needed all eight of the skilled wizards and witches to destroy it and none of them had wanted to expose the teenagers to the level of dangerous magic that had been used, even if they were able.

There was a more buoyant atmosphere after that, there were now four horcruxes destroyed and only the unknown one, Nagini and Voldemort himself left. Not to mention it was near to Christmas and everyone was looking forward to a holiday after the stress the past year had brought them all. Yes, they would finally have a little time to relax … Merlin knows they all needed it.

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**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, it is much appreciated; Mwhahahaha18, Readerforlife, LoveIt123 and diamond-helen.**

**This is the end of the more serious stuff for now. The next few chapters will be more lighthearted and soon the Hermione/Bill romance will finally start. Next chapter will be about a marauder prank and the chapter after that is where you will all get to finally discover Hermione and Sirius' history and why it was that she thought about how much she missed him when she brought him back from the veil. **


	20. The Marauders Plot

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome - I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

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**The Marauders Plot**

Sirius and Remus often told them all stories of the great marauder pranks from back when they'd been at school and they were all suitably impressed by the exciting, bold, amusing and often rude pranks that had been pulled. Sirius still liked to tease Professor McGonagall by calling her "Minnie" as he had done as a teenager and Hermione had a feeling that although she constantly chastised him like a student for it, she secretly liked the reminder of the energetic marauder era.

Hermione has been surprised thus far, for she had been certain that of the remaining marauders (very likely Sirius) would not be able to resist some big prank - probably directed at Snape. She had worried at the beginning when no big prank materialised, certain that Sirius was planning something, no doubt with assistance from Fred, George, Harry and Ron, but still nothing happened.

As it turned out, she was correct, which was of course normal since Hermione tended to be right about most things. She was a little off with who would help Sirius mastermind the prank, because of course Sirius would be the mastermind. When it all eventually came out, she was unsurprised to discover that Fred and George had been in on it, but rather shocked to find out that Remus had helped too - then again Sirius was perfectly capable of browbeating his best friend into helping and he was certainly not above a bit of blackmail. After all, the marauder era contained many embarrassing stories involving one or more of the famous quartet (though of course it was more known as a trio nowadays, after Pettigrew's defection).

* * *

The devious group had chosen a rather perfect time to pull their big prank. With only a week and a half until Christmas Day no one in the castle had any time to think about what they may or may not be plotting. If it had been any other time someone, probably Hermione or Dumbledore, would have noticed something going on. However, with presents to buy, decorations to put up and food to prepare, especially since everything had to be owl ordered from catalogues or made from scratch since trips to Hogsmeade were banned after the attack.

No one, not even the all knowing Dumbledore, noticed that Fred, George and Remus spent an awful lot of time in Sirius' quarters with soundproofing and locking spells. It was after all normal for the latter to spend time with his best friend and as for the two former, they were always disappearing off to concoct more items for Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, which they now managed from Hogwarts.

The two older and the two newer marauders hadn't done any pranking, unless you counted the small things such as turning Snape's hair pink for a few days, which Hermione had given them an earful for. They had been mindful of the tense, worried atmosphere, especially after the attack on the girls in Hogsmeade and the murders of the muggleborn families and Hermione's parents. But now it was almost Christmas and the perfect time, in their opinion, to pull a nice big prank, just to remind everyone that the marauders still had it.

So they plotted and planned for hours, from the first of December right up until the night of their big prank, set for the 14th December. They tweaked and changed the plan until they were finally satisfied with its genius and if you had seen the look on Sirius' face when they finally got it right you would have been rather worried about what it meant for everyone else.

* * *

All was normal to begin with on that 14th December, everyone was in the Great Hall, for a rare breakfast where everyone was present. There was supposed to be some Order business discussed, which was the reason for the full attendance and also why the pranksters had chosen that particular day. No one but the four of them knew that the Order business would never be discussed that morning, because there would be too much chaos around.

The table was full of a wide variety of chatter; Order missions, Christmas presents, lessons and Voldemort's recent moves. A late training session the night before meant a lot of the table's occupants were still half asleep and one person (Ron of course) had fallen asleep in his empty plate (he would never waste food) and was being shaken awake by an amused Harry and an exasperated Hermione.

No one noticed the secretive grins the four pranksters shared (though Remus did feel a little guilty for what they were about to do) and to begin with no one noticed anything out of the ordinary. That was until people's skin started changing colour.

Moody was the first to notice, probably due to his ever watching magical eye and his obsession with constant vigilance. Once he'd shouted it out everyone began to panic, wondering what on earth could be going on. Skin was flashing and changing constantly, although the most popular colour at the moment seemed to be red.

Hermione, whose face was currently red, turned round to face Sirius, Fred and George, who were standing together, with an expression that promised murder. The three usually brave men shrank under her glare and she stormed towards them, "Sirius Orion Black, what the hell have you done. I know you're the mastermind behind this, I should have known that after being this quiet with pranks for so long that you'd pull something."

Sirius winced at her harsh tone, while Fred and George tried to quietly back away from the furious witch. They were unsuccessful in their attempt because Hermione quickly turned to them, eyes flashing, "don't you two think of running off because I know you're involved somehow and I want an explanation."

It was then that the second part of the prank came into play. The rest of the room, who had now wandered over to watch the amusing scene of a grown man of thirty-eight and two men of twenty looking petrified by a petite eighteen year old girl, noticed that there were bright red letters hovering over Hermione's head, with what seemed like a running commentary of swear words and curses directed at Sirius, Fred and George. Further inspection found that everyone appeared to have these sentences floating above them, but with different words.

When Hermione finally noticed what the others were seeing, she became even angrier and Sirius would later swear that her curly hair crackled with electricity. She only had the patience to mutter the word "explain" at Sirius, who looked like he was torn between running for his life from Hermione or bursting into laughter.

But Sirius, who couldn't hold his laughter in any more, was now clutching his stomach in hysterics, joined by Fred and George and observed by a frowning Hermione. In the end it was a rather nervous looking Remus who stepped forward, "I know what it is Mione and I will apologise in advance for my part in it so please don't kill me."

Hermione gave him a wry smile, "don't worry Remus, I know both you and Sirius well enough to guess that the only reason you were involved is due to some sort of blackmail and therefore I will not blame you." Remus looked immensely relieved, while Sirius was spluttering in indignation over the fact that he had received death threats while his best friend was let off the hook.

"We all contributed to it," explained Remus, gesturing to himself, Sirius and the twins, "the colour changing skin was Fred and George's idea, it changes in relation to your mood. As you've probably guessed, red means anger, pink is embarrassment, yellow is happy, black is sad, orange is stress, green is jealousy or greed, blue is for when you are contented and purple is love or romantic feelings.

Hermione nodded and everyone breathed a sigh of relief as her red skin began to fade to blue because they all knew how scary an angry Hermione could be. Remus continued on with his explanation, "as for the words above your head, that was Sirius' idea and I'm afraid it is a running commentary of the thoughts running through your head at that moment. All I did to help was get the spells right, but I can also claim the credit for being the ones to get the potion into Sirius, Fred, George and myself so that we all have to suffer along with you."

Hermione smiled a little while Sirius turned to his best friend in shock, "what did you do that for Moony, I don't fancy having my private thoughts displayed in front of the world." Remus rolled his eyes, "well as much as I don't really fancy having to read your dirty fantasies all day I thought it would make them hate us all a bit less if we suffered too."

Hermione smirked at Sirius, "serves you right, you should be glad because if you hadn't been affected I would have made sure you suffered along with us and it wouldn't have been painless like this." Sirius grimaced, but remained silent, while Hermione asked the question they all wanted the answer to, "so how long is this going to last?"

Remus shrugged, "I wouldn't worry too much Mione, it'll only last till the end of the day at the latest." Hermione's eyes narrowed, "yes but lessons will probably have to be cancelled and we'll all end up avoiding everyone else so none of secrets are revealed through our thoughts, it is all very inconvenient." She turned to Sirius, Fred and George, "you lot should be glad I'm in a relatively good mood and that this moronic potion will only last a day. If it had been any different then its likely that you'd be permanently incapacitated. Now if you all don't mind I'm going to work in my dormitory."

They all watched her go, her thoughts still showing irritation at the four pranksters, but now more focused on some research she was doing. Many of the other occupants of the room followed suit, while Sirius received a stern lecture from Professor McGonagall, Fred and George were chastised by a fuming Mrs Weasley and Remus received one glare from Tonks before she shrugged and turned her hair neon blue to match her skin.

* * *

The rest of the day was filled with a lot of solitary work, for many of the castle's occupants feared they would reveal something they would rather not become public knowledge. Still, there were inevitably a few rather embarrassing situations; Ginny and Harry got a rather uncomfortable lecture from Mrs Weasley when their thoughts accidentally revealed that they'd been sleeping together and Professor McGonagall turned bright pink with mortification when an errant thought revealed a bit of a fancy for Professor Dumbledore, who was luckily not in the room at the time.

There were also plenty of amusing situations such as Sirius and Snape having an argument entirely in their thoughts and without ever opening their mouths, while everyone found just how much Ron thought of food (around 80% time) and the number of times the words 'lemon drops' came up in Dumbledore's thoughts (128 in the day) very amusing. There was also much to be learned from the unique mind of Luna, though not much was seen of her during the day after she and a rather purple Blaise were spotted heading towards the Forbidden Forest to visit the thestrals.

As for Hermione, she had plenty of secrets she didn't wish to share with anyone and so she spent most of the day in a small secret room she'd discovered in the library doing research. Luckily it wasn't on the marauder's map, probably due to the fact that Remus was the only one of the marauders to have spent any extended period of time in there and he'd been more concerned with studying than secret rooms.

She did find that it was a rather productive day, with no interruptions, but it had been lonely and she'd ended up missing Harry and Ron's company, as well as her duelling lesson. On her way back to Gryffindor Tower the potion still hadn't worn off and she'd had to resort to reciting 'Hogwarts: A History' in her head on the way back so as to prevent any errant thoughts escaping.

She was lucky and didn't pass anyone for most of the trek back to the tower, but that luck ran out when she turned the final corner and ran into Bill Weasley. Her skin immediately took on a pink hue as her embarrassment rose. She managed to stutter out an apology and surge through the portrait into a thankfully empty common room before her skin went bright purple.

She swore to herself as she headed up to her dorm, thankful that both Ginny and Luna were absent from the room. She changed quickly and was about to head to bed when she caught site of her reflection in the mirror, or more specifically the words hovering above her head; _I wish Bill would like me the way I like him_.

And at that moment she only thought one thing; "damn."

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**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter; Elfsquire90, Readerforlife, diamond-helen and LoveIt123.**

**I am very excited for the next chapter because it is one of my favourites. You will finally get to see the history between Hermione and Sirius and a little bit of Hermione/Bill action. It will be up in a few days.**


	21. Christmas Day

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**When Hermione opens her presents in this chapter she receives some off Sirius and the last one may confuse you a little as you'll wonder its real significance. This will be revealed later on in the chapter and I'm sure you'll guess what it is, if not then I'll mention it at the end of the chapter so you're sure.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome - I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter, it is one of my favourites and I hope you like it too.**

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**Christmas Day**

Christmas arrived quicker than Hermione could imagine, even after the marauder's prank shook all their systems a bit, and she was shocked when the day was suddenly upon her. She was just glad she had to fortitude and the organisation to have bought the Christmas gifts for her friends months in advance, but that didn't mean that she was prepared for what the day would bring.

For her, Christmas day had always been a day for family and now she found herself without her parents for the first time in her life. She had always seen her parents at some point in the Christmas holidays and because of Voldemort and his death eaters she would never have that chance again.

She knew she had a family in the Order, she loved them all just as much as she had her parents, but there was something about her parents that had reassured her. They had been innocent to the war until it took their lives and she could spend time with them just relaxing, walking, talking, watching TV without any discussions on the war, the casualties or magic.

She didn't even have to see them, there had been Christmas days since beginning Hogwarts when she hadn't. But then she had still been able to hear their voices and she couldn't even do that now. She looked past her bed and saw that Ginny and Luna were still asleep, checking her watch she guessed that their slumber was due to the fact that it was only five in the morning.

She decided that since it was very unlikely that she would go back to sleep and very likely she would end up having a little cry about her parent's absence, that she should go down to the common room so she wouldn't wake up the other girls. Pulling on her dressing gown and slippers she headed downstairs.

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An hour later and she'd had her little cry, though it had really turned into a rather long cry and she hoped her sobs hadn't woken anyone up. Then again, having to deal with the noise of Fred and George's experiments tended to mean most of them could sleep through an earthquake.

She went back up to her dorm to clean up, heading to the shower and letting the rush of hot water wash away her sadness and tears. She splashed cold water on her face to remove what redness was left round her eyes and then dried herself off.

They were having lunch in the Great Hall and everyone was attending so they'd agreed it would be semi-formal. Therefore she selected a dress the colour of chocolate that hugged her curves and came to just above her knee. It had short sleeves and a scoop neck and she smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She tried not to think of the fact that it had been the last present her parents had ever given her.

She added a pair of black pumps with just a little heel and of course her charm bracelet. She dried her hair and left it to curl down past her shoulders in silky waves. She wore little makeup; some shimmery brown eye shadow, mascara and a little lip gloss.

While she was getting herself ready she vaguely noticed the others around her waking up and completing their morning routines around her. They were all done at around the same time and congregated in the common room to open presents.

Hermione noticed that the boys were all looking very smart in black trousers and a variety of coloured shirts, though Harry's hair still wouldn't lie flat. Luna wore a floaty blue skirt and a white scoop neck top, while Ginny had opted for a dress very similar to hers, but in black. Hermione grinned to herself as she saw Harry gulp as he saw his vivacious girlfriend swing her hips and give him a wink.

Shaking her head she headed for the pile of presents under the tree, hoping to herself that Harry wouldn't ruin Ginny's dress when he inevitably ripped it off her. From the angry looks Ron was giving the pair he was thinking the same thing, though probably more worried about his sister's virtue rather than the state of her dress.

The next half hour was full of hugs, squeals of delight and smiles as the group opened their presents. Draco and Blaise seemed shocked that so many of the Order had given them anything and she smiled in return when the two gave her shocked smiles at what she'd given them; a potions book he'd wanted for Blaise and a broomstick servicing kit for Draco.

Harry and Ron hugged her over the assortment of sweets and WWW products she'd given them and Ginny swatted her over the head and blushed as red as her hair when she unwrapped the scarlet and gold underwear with the words 'Property of Harry Potter' embroidered onto the back of the knickers.

Turning to her own pile she was extremely happy with the presents she'd received. She'd gotten some sweets off Ron and a set of books she'd wanted from Harry. Ginny and Tonks had put together to give her an assortment of new clothes, intent on changing her style to daring rather than bookish, which explained the mini-skirt and tight tops she'd found in the package.

Blaise had given her a book on defensive magic and Draco had surprised her by presenting her with a rare first edition of 'Hogwarts: A History.' The best part had been the incredulous looks on both of their faces when she hugged them in thanks.

Sirius had given her a host of different gifts and she smiled at each one with their different significance, not many knew that Sirius could be so thoughtful. The first gift was a delicate necklace with a replica gold time turner to remind her of the object that had helped her save his life and she placed it round her neck straight away. The second gift was a moving picture they'd taken where he'd charmed the camera to float in front of them. She laughed as she watched him tickle her giggling form before they both calmed and smiled brightly into the camera. The final present was a bottle of Ogden's finest firewhiskey and she laughed as she let the memories that bottle brought back wash over her.

Remus knew she was interested in eventually creating a potion to alleviate the pain and difficulty of lycanthropy, with Severus' help of course, and so he had kindly given her a notebook full of information on werewolves that only a werewolf would know, she knew that she wouldn't find all the information in books. In addition, he had given her a number of bars of the best Honeydukes chocolate and it was a mark of their friendship that he had managed to keep them for her without eating them himself - Remus had an unrivalled love of chocolate.

Kingsley had given her a few arithmancy and ancient runes books and she knew they would be useful in improving her arithmantic equations for the war and predicting any events that could have a severe impact upon the battle.

Finally, the rest of the Order had given her an assortment of different gifts including chocolate, sweets, books and trinkets. She was incredibly pleased with them all and their thought managed to help her forget for a while that her parent's gifts weren't among the others as usual.

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There was no breakfast in the Great Hall as everyone was busy getting ready and opening presents so the house elves sent up a selection of food to their common room in case anyone was hungry. Once all the presents were open Hermione ate a croissant and had some hot chocolate while she read one of her new books and tried to ignore her disgust at the way Ron was stuffing his face with food when he would eat again in an hour or two.

At noon they all got up to head down to the Great Hall for lunch and met with the rest of the Order in the entrance hall. Hermione hugged everyone and wished them a merry Christmas before coming to the group of people consisting of Sirius, Remus, Kingsley and Tonks.

"Wow Mione, looking good, I am very partial to that dress," Sirius grinned perversely at her but she just rolled her eyes and hugged him. "Thanks for the present by the way, I've been meaning to get a new leather jacket for ages and I love the helmet," he told her, referring to the motorcycle helmet she'd given him, with a silver image of Padfoot on it. "Your welcome Sirius and I love my presents, great memories," she told him with a smile, which he returned as he touched the timeturner necklace around her throat, glad she had worn it.

She then went to each of the other three in turn, hugging them and thanking them profusely for their gifts while receiving their thanks for what she had given them. Remus loved his new moonstone cufflinks to ease him around the full moon and had already devoured half his chocolate. Tonks was delighted with the two tickets for a Weird Sisters Concert and Kingsley was fascinated by the books she had given him, some on ancient runes, one on arithmancy and another on powerful offensive magic.

They all headed into the Great Hall and Hermione was stunned when she saw it, brighter and cheerier than ever before, with huge Christmas trees and tinsel everywhere. She and Bill were the last to go in and suddenly found themselves stuck under magical mistletoe, which wouldn't let the pair go until they kissed. Luckily everyone else was occupied getting themselves seated and no one noticed Bill lean down quickly to brush his lips against Hermione's. Once released from the spell the two hurried quickly to their places, trying not to let the blush on their faces show and looking pointedly away from each other for at least the first twenty minutes of the meal. Still, she couldn't help but smile inside as she thought of his lips on hers.

Hermione noticed the two Malfoys and the two Zabinis looked a little lost and she guessed none of them had ever really experienced such a lively, loving Christmas. She did her best to make them feel better, talking about potions to Blaise and about duelling techniques with Draco, breathing a sigh of relief when they actually spoke and didn't just go off in the sullen silence that they were prone to occasionally. She was also pleased when she saw Maria Zabini speaking to Professor McGonagall and Tonks managing to get through a polite, if slightly awkward, conversation about how her mother Andromeda (Narcissa's sister) was. Tonks was also pleasantly surprised to discover that Narcissa's snobbery was more of an act and though not as warm and caring as Andromeda, she was a rather nice woman and did express an interest in getting to know her niece better and in seeing her sister Andromeda again soon.

* * *

They had just finished dinner and were about to start on dessert when Remus stood up and addressed the group. "Erm, since you're all here Dora and I have decided it would be the best time to announce a piece of news we wish to share with you."

He motioned to Tonks who stood up next to him and continued speaking, "as you all know, Tonks and I have been dating a while and we want to let you know … we got married at the weekend and Tonks is expecting a baby." Sharp, short and to the point.

Silence for a moment and then there was a flood of congratulations. Hermione hugged both of them and Sirius was exultant, "hey Moony, now you've married my cousin it means we're officially family." Hermione smiled softly at this, they might have been practically family since Hogwarts, but having it official was even better.

Kingsley shook Remus' hand and hugged Tonks, "congratulations, a marauder kid running round, how will we cope." Everyone laughed and they started dessert with multiple conversations on marriage, babies and Hermione, Ginny and Luna all begging Tonks for a full description of what her wedding was like.

* * *

Once dessert cleared away and the topic of Remus and Tonks' elopement and pregnancy had died down they pulled crackers. Hermione pondered that wizarding crackers were so much better than muggle ones, a bigger bang and better gifts inside. Once the smoke had cleared away everyone sat at the table talking quietly among themselves.

Remus appeared deep in thought for a few moments before suddenly speaking, "Mione, that night you brought Sirius back to us we asked what you bartered with. You told us that you told the veil spirit about how much Harry and I missed him, but you also said something about how you mentioned yourself, but that it was a story for another time. Can we hear it now?"

The expression on Hermione's face made it plain that she had hoped they would all forget that particular sentence, however she gave a small smile. "Ok Remus, you can hear the story, as long as you all promise not to feel any guilt." They all nodded, though a bit reluctantly, wondering what they could have to feel guilty about.

"Well, you all remember when Sirius fell through the veil, we were all sad about it, Everyone rallied around Harry and Remus, trying to support them, because they were really Sirius' only true friends, the ones who knew him best. The problem was that no one ever considered that there could be someone else who missed Sirius just as much, someone who tried their best to help Harry and Remus while grieving themselves."

"I don't blame you," she said quickly when she saw many of the table realising she was referring to herself, "I hid it well. There were few people who knew me well enough or were observant enough to tell. While Ron is one of my best friends, he is rather unobservant, Harry was stuck in his own grief obviously. Dumbledore may have been able to tell, but I rarely saw him and even Remus might have noticed but he was grieving like Harry."

"But Mione," said Ron with a confused expression, "no offence but you barely knew Sirius." Hermione gave them a sad smile and they saw her exchange a glance with Sirius, who spoke to her. "You never told them did you?" She shook her head and he gave her a look, "you should have told them Mione, they would have helped you deal with the grief. Not that you should have grieved for an old dog like me."

Everyone was looking between the pair with confusion, "erm, is there something we should know?" questioned Remus and the room looked closely at them. Hermione gave a happier smile, "Sirius and I were damn near best friends when he went through that veil, its just that no one ever knew. You didn't ever think how he came back and we were suddenly so close, it didn't just happen because I saved him. At the time I trusted him as much as I trusted Harry and Ron and he trusted me the same as Remus and Harry. Sirius knows things about me no one else does and I could say the same about him."

The entire room was shocked into silence at the revelation and immediately wanted to know all about it, so Hermione obliged with some help from Sirius. "It started the summer before our fifth year, when we were staying at headquarters and during the school year we sent letters." Sirius laughed, "yeah I remember that, yours were always essays and mine were a few lines." Hermione grinned indulgently back, "well I never expected you to do more than you had to Sirius, you surpassed my expectations by even writing back to me."

She looked back to the rest of the room, who were smiling in a surprised way at the banter between the two, "the letters were really just bits of news and random thoughts. It was actually Sirius who gave me the idea for the D.A. I'd tell him all about school and how Harry was doing and he'd tell me all the funny stories about what he was getting up to back at Grimmauld Place." She looked back at Sirius again, "remember when you told me about how Buckbeak had almost mauled Kreacher when he was muttering derogatory stuff about you under his breath." Sirius' laugh increased in volume, "oh I remember that very fondly, I laughed about it for over a week afterwards."

Harry looked confused, "but Umbridge was checking all our mail, how did your letters even get through." Hermione smirked in a rather Malfoyish manor. "We realised we might have that problem before school started and so Sirius gave me a mirror. It was sort of like the mirror he gave you Harry, but you didn't talk to others, it was like a portal you could send objects through, so we'd send our letters through that." Remus glared playfully at Sirius, "you never told me that you had those, they could have been useful." Sirius just grinned, "can't give away all my secrets now can I."

Ginny decided to use the moment of silence to jump in with her question, "so when exactly did you two become friends at headquarters because from what we all remember you were always fighting about house elf rights and how Sirius was too rash." Both Hermione and Sirius laughed at this. "It was real to start, but once our friendship got started it was merely a well perfected act. We laughed about it so much during our talks," said Sirius with a smile on his face. "Your talks?" questioned Harry, "yes," laughed Hermione, "the reason we became friends. It started at the beginning of the holiday when we were the last two up. We just started up a conversation about the morals of magic, Sirius was rather adamant that the killing curse should be allowed in certain cases, aka his death eater family. I always said that there must be some good in everyone but he never budged. I remember right after Bellatrix sent him into the veil, I remembered those conversations and from then on I believed what he said, sometimes Avada Kedavra is acceptable." Her face darkened at this but she soon shook herself out of it, "I always enjoy my debates about literature and poetry with Remus, but Sirius is the only one I'd go to for debates on morality, he's seen both sides."

Sirius grinned, "you can say that again, after all I was the one who corrupted you Mione, if you remember the great hangover cover-up." Hermione laughed at this, "Sirius I told you never to reveal that, you promised." Sirius just shrugged with a smile and Fred and George gave identical grins. "What does he mean Mione, we must know the story of how Little Miss Perfect stopped being so perfect," said Fred.

Hermione gave Sirius a glare, "fine I will tell you but just remember to blame Sirius for it all," she said, giving the man in question an evil grin. "My second night at Grimmauld Place, Sirius and I were the last ones up and we got into a debate about morality as I explained. So he says he needs a drink to debate properly and pulls out some firewhiskey. The he adds some comment about it being strong stuff that only the 'big people' can handle and you all know I wouldn't stand for that. I grabbed a glass, poured a shot and downed it in one. He just grinned and the debate continued. Luckily none of my family are lightweight drinkers and we all know Sirius can handle his drink so we were still holding the argument a few drinks later. That's how it all began. We would stay up late most nights drinking and debating until the early hours of the morning with no one the wiser. Of course in the mornings I had a hell of a hangover and Sirius found it hilarious to use the hangover potion himself and hide it from me. I would have been able to brew some myself but someone would have noticed. You were all under the impression that I just wasn't a morning person and that I needed coffee to wake up, the truth is coffee is my hangover cure. Harry and Ron, if they ever used their brains, should have realised that at school, where I obviously wasn't drinking, I was the one to wake them up and was always up bright and early at 6.30 am. I was always surprised I got away with it, Sirius just loved to tease me, talking really loudly on purpose."

The room was silent when she finished, until Molly started sputtering, "all those mornings when we learnt not to speak to you until you'd had your coffee, you were hung-over!" Hermione gave her a sheepish look, "Hermione dear you were only fifteen." Hermione gave a shrug, "almost sixteen, and actually with my time turner use I was almost seventeen. Plus UK law states that drinking within the home is up to the discretion of the guardians and though Sirius may not act like it he is an adult and kind of my guardian since it was his house." Molly just stuttered before going off on a tirade at Sirius about encouraging underage drinking and corrupting innocence, which Hermione tried to tune out. She thought it served him right for letting everyone know.

She turned to the rest of the table, who were looking at her with a mixture of shock and amusement. Tonks laughed, "I can't believe it Mione, that is the sort of thing I would have done at your age and I was a wild child." She shook her hair, today striped with pink and purple, as if to emphasise her wild streak. Remus just shook his head, as if wondering how he missed it and the Weasley twins spent several minutes congratulating her on completely fooling them all with her 'good girl' act.

Harry gave her a funny look, "you were drinking buddies with my ex-convict godfather, you know how weird that is Mione." But he smiled and she knew he was joking so she turned to Ron, who seemed shocked into silence. When he finally spoke it made the entire table roar with laughter, "wow Mione, who knew you could have fun." Hermione for her part just smacked him upside the head.

Once the laughter and scolding had died down Hermione looked serious again, "so now you know. I never told you before but the caster of the spell to bring a person back from the veil must have a strong personal reason to bring back that person. I just had to think about how lonely I was, no more humorous letters, no more late night drinking and debates. I lost one of my best friends, do you how many things I never told you, secrets I'd told Sirius that he'd made me promise to never tell anyone else so he'd be the only one who knew. He was the only one I could discuss them with and when he left I had no one to discuss some of my most important problems with."

She appeared to be getting into her stride, finally letting out everything she had held in during the year Sirius was trapped and it scared her friends, knowing she had suffered in silence. The Christmas mood was fast disappearing, the revelation of her friendship with Sirius before the veil bringing back the memories of suffering without him. Sirius got up out of his chair and came over the her, hugging her close and whispering to her, she began sobbing, "I missed you so much Sirius and none of them ever knew, I had no one to talk to and I was so bloody lonely." He was stroking her back now, "it's ok Mione, I'm back now, that time is over."

She went on sobbing though and spoke quietly to Sirius, but the table was so quiet everyone heard it, "Sirius it was so bad, the night I found out I considered ending it all just to get away from the pain." The room looked at her in shock, as did Sirius. "Mione, darling why didn't you ever tell us, we could have helped," asked Remus quietly with a pained expression on his face, hating himself for being so blind.

Hermione gave him a weak smile through her tears, "everyone had enough to deal with and anyway I only considered it for a minute before I knew its not what Sirius would have wanted me to do. Plus I'd miss you all too much." Her sobs subsided after a few minutes and she rubbed her eyes before whipping her wand out to clean up her face. "Sorry, bad memories," she muttered to the room, who nodded in understanding, still a little shocked by the revelations that they had heard during the meal.

Soon the noise level was up and the atmosphere in the room back to normal, though both Hermione and Sirius remained pensive during the rest of the day, lost in memories. One thing everyone knew was that this Christmas was one they would remember for years to come.

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**Thanks to all those who reviewed the previous chapter; Mwhahahaha18, Darkness-Lightness and LoveIt123. It is very much appreciated.**

**Ok, so if you didn't realise then the significance of the bottle of firewhiskey Hermione gets for Christmas off Sirius is that it is a reminder of the 'great hangover cover-up' Sirius tells the table about at lunch.**

**Sorry if the announcement about Remus and Tonks' marriage and Tonks' pregnancy seems rather rushed, but I didn't really know how to write it. **

**I hope you all enjoyed the little Hermione/Bill moment and I'm pleased to announce that there will be even more Bill/Hermione moments next chapter and we are soon reaching the time when they will finally get together. I know some of you might think their romance is moving rather slowly, since we've had over twenty chapters, but Hermione has a lot going on and so it would take time. **


	22. A Ball

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome - I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

**A Ball**

Dumbledore had decided that a ball was in order to keep up everyone's spirits and he had scheduled it for New Year's Eve, knowing that this meant everyone would be able to attend. Hermione was rather excited by the ball since it would be a welcome change from the training and lessons she had been having.

After Hermione, Ginny and Luna had been ambushed in Hogsmeade there had been no more trips there unless absolutely necessary. That meant that the three girls, along with Tonks were spending their free hour pouring over a magazine of dress styles to enable Mrs Weasley, Mrs Malfoy and Mrs Zabini to create their dresses.

Ginny had selected a silky green dress, much to the girl's amusement, they couldn't wait to see Harry and Ron's reactions to Ginny appearing in Slytherin colours. Luna had gone for an icy blue colour, which went beautifully with her blonde hair and Tonks had decided on a deep purple colour which not many could pull off, but with her metamorphagus abilities it suited her perfectly.

Now the only one without a dress was Hermione, who was having a lot of trouble deciding on a colour, for there were so many to choose from. Finally she decided to go for the bold and picked a blood red silk dress, full length and figure hugging, only flaring out a little once it reached her ankles.

The boys had all tried to get the girls to reveal their dresses, but they remained tight lipped and insistent that the boys wait for the great unveiling at the ball. The other three all had dates; Ginny was going with Harry, Tonks with Remus and Blaise had finally plucked up the courage to ask Luna to the ball. Hermione had smiled at that pairing, it seemed so unlikely and yet when you saw the two together you knew they complimented each other and she was ecstatic for them.

Hermione had decided to just go on her own until she'd spoke to Sirius, who absolutely refused to let her go without an escort and offered to take her as a friend. She accepted him cheerfully, feeling better now she wouldn't have to enter the ball on her own.

* * *

The evening of the ball finally arrived and Hermione, Ginny and Luna were in their dorm two hours before it would begin getting ready when Ginny started panicking.

"Mione, Luna, what am I going to do, Harry will kill me when he sees this dress, it's green!!" she wailed. Hermione laughed and tried to calm her friend, "Gin, the dress looks so good he probably won't care what colour it is," she didn't add that Ron would and that he would not be pleased. "Even if he does, you can just tell him you picked the colour to match his eyes, they are practically the same shade of green."

This seemed to calm Ginny and she was soon suitably recovered enough to fix Hermione's hair for her. The red head didn't need to use any Sleakeasy potion now and merely pulled Hermione's hair into a loose, yet elegant bun, leaving a few curls to frame each side of her face. Hermione smiled at the style, thinking how similar it was to her Yule Ball style, but now her hair was less unruly she was a lot quicker styling it. She put on some black eye shadow and mascara, creating a smoky eyed look that suited her pale skin and red dress very well. Some red lipstick and a bit of gloss completed her ensemble and then she could help Ginny prepare.

When they were done the three girls surveyed themselves in the mirror and were pleased. Ginny's hair was loose and fell down her back all the way to her waist, complementing her emerald dress well. Luna's hair was also loose, with a few silver and blue braids running through it and she had forgone her usual eccentric jewellery for a pair of dangly silver earrings and a silver snowflake necklace she had received for Christmas.

They were the last ones ready and headed to the entrance hall to meet their dates. Blaise met Luna with a goofy smile that seemed out of place on the serious Slytherin, clearly delighted to be going to the ball with her and taking her hand straight away. Ginny had caused a bit of a stir with her brother and Harry over the colour of her dress. As advised she had informed them it was to match Harry's eyes and of course Harry had accepted that straight off, unable to keep his eyes off his girlfriend. Ron seemed disinclined to agree and Ginny walked into the Great Hall on Harry's arm, but still bickering with Ron.

Hermione made her way over to Sirius, stopping to say hello to Remus and Tonks as they entered the hall. The newly married couple seemed to be having a quiet argument over something. As she got closer she heard snippets of Remus' words as he tried to soothe his stressed wife, "… you don't look fat honestly Dora, you're only three weeks pregnant and you don't even have a bump yet … I'm sure it's just the hormones talking … no I don't think you're being moody Dora … I love you darling, I'm telling the truth."

She just smiled at Remus' silent plea for help, speaking a few words to the pair and moving towards Sirius with a smile at Remus' desperate look. Sirius was holding back his own laughter as she reached him, "poor Moony, he is so whipped and by my baby cousin at that." Hermione rapped him on the head, "don't laugh at poor Remus, he's happy." Sirius just nodded, lips pressed close together in an attempt to prevent further laughter. Offering her his arm he led her into the Great Hall.

* * *

Hermione winced as she sat down at one of the tables at the side of the dance floor that had Dumbledore had conjured in the middle of the Great Hall. She'd been dancing practically non-stop for almost two hours and now she was not only dehydrated, but her feet were killing her and she was about ready to curse the heels Ginny had forced on her that evening. She smiled up at Sirius as he passed her a drink and gulped it down quickly, relaxing into her chair as the pain ebbed slowly out of her feet.

She'd danced with practically everyone, all except Draco and Bill, and she was using her break to admire the decorations. It was very similar to the Yule Ball, minus the band, which had been replaced by charmed instruments. She sat for a few minutes, watching Sirius dance rather exuberantly with a hyped up Tonks, before she downed her drink and moved quickly to a darker corner, running smack bang into Draco.

"In a hurry Granger," he drawled, but she noted with relief that there was no malice in his tone. She gave a grin, "I saw Fred coming over to the table and made a quick escape, his dancing is rather energetic and I don't think I could cope with it more than the one time I've endured tonight."

Her companion smirked, "don't blame you Granger, but do you think you can endure one dance with me?" Hermione laughed, "didn't think I'd ever here you say that Malfoy, but sure, I reckon I can endure it." She took his outstretched hand and he led her on to the dance floor.

* * *

Meanwhile, over in one corner of the Hall, a small group of people were commenting on the dancing and not all of them were pleased about the new pair on the dance floor. "He better not try anything," muttered an irate Sirius, to an equally annoyed Harry and Ron, a rather amused Remus and a slightly worried Bill. "He won't do anything will he?" asked the latter, but all he got from Sirius in response was a growl. Ron sneered, "if he does then we'll just make sure he experiences what it's like to be a ferret again."

As Harry explained the ferret story to an amused Bill, Remus chastised Sirius and Ron, "you shouldn't be so hard on Mr Malfoy," he told them sternly. "He came to the right side in the end and he tries, which is more than can be said for you two most of the time." He gazed over at Hermione, who was twirling round with Draco, the pair in perfect unison. "Anyway, she seems to be having fun and we all know that Mione is perfectly capable of taking care of herself." The others just harrumphed and went back to their previous conversations.

* * *

Hermione grinned as Draco looked at her incredulously as they danced, "where did you learn ballroom dancing, you're almost as good as me and I've been learning since I was seven." She looked mockingly offended, "almost as good Malfoy, I'm just as good as you. Anyway, you're not the only one who learnt to dance, I had lessons from when I was five till I went to Hogwarts."

Draco just nodded imperiously, "well I guess all muggles aren't too inferior," he told her and she smiled wryly, guessing that his comment was the closest he would ever get to complimenting muggles. The twirled for a bit longer before she heard Draco stifle a laugh and looked at him questioningly, "your guard dogs don't look too pleased with who you're dancing with."

She looked over in the direction Draco was looking and rolled her eyes as she saw the five men, three of whom were glaring at her partner and one who looked rather worried. "Don't worry," she reassured Draco, "Remus will be sure to keep them in line and they all know that if they come over I'll just hex them." He nodded, assured of his safety and they danced for a few more minutes until he thanked her and headed over to talk to his mother and Snape.

She was about to head back to a table when someone caught her hand and she looked up to see Bill peering down at her with a small smile, "do you want to dance Mione?" She couldn't help but beam at him, though she caught herself before blushing and just muttered an "sure" to him before a song came on. She could only hope that he'd forgotten, or would ignore the memory of, the brief kiss they'd shared under the mistletoe. Anyway, she argued with herself, he wouldn't have even rated it and had probably just written it off as a slightly embarrassing Christmas tradition.

Cursing whoever had changed the song to a slow one(which happened to be a twinkle-eyed Dumbledore) she began swaying slowly to the music with Bill. They chatted about this and that to begin with and he told her all about his adventures as a curse breaker while she told him everything she'd had to do to ensure Ron and Harry hadn't failed their very first year. The mistletoe kiss didn't come up and while she breathed a sigh of relief, she was still a little sad knowing he had forgotten it so easily. She yearned to talk of something deeper, but she knew that she wouldn't cope if she ended up in a personal conversation with Bill of all people.

They were quiet through the next song, also a slow one, until Bill spoke, "was Malfoy ok, he didn't try anything did he?" Hermione just grinned at him, "nah, Draco is ok, don't worry about me. If he does anything then I'm more than capable of taking care of myself." He looked abashed, "sorry Mione, I didn't mean …" but she cut him off, "it's fine Bill, I know you were just worried about me. At least you didn't do what Ron, Harry or Sirius would have done if Remus hadn't stopped them which is hex first and ask questions later." He nodded with a smile and they continued to dance, Hermione relishing the feeling of having Bill so close, unaware that he was feeling the same about her.

Things got a little easier for her when the songs sped up and she wasn't in such close proximity to Bill, but she still watched him a lot that night, cursing herself for falling for a guy she was never going to get. But as she left the Hall later on with Sirius and he dropped her off at Gryffindor Tower, asking her if she'd had a good time, she couldn't help the goofy smile that appeared on her face as she nodded in the affirmative, blushed and disappeared up to her dorm before Sirius could question her reaction. He knew her far too well and she didn't wish for an interrogation that would lead to her revealing her crush. She wanted to keep it to herself as long as possible.

Little did she know that across the castle, a certain red headed Weasley was thinking of the dances he'd shared with the petite brunette, as well as the kiss during Christmas Day and was sighing to himself as he argued with himself over the idea that she'd ever actually like him.

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**Thanks to all those who reviewed last chapter, it was much appreciated; bluesmidge101, Readerforlife, Darkness-Lightness and .sarah (whose full screen name refuses to come out right, sorry). **

**I hope you all enjoyed the Hermione/Bill at the end of the chapter and next chapter will be an interlude from Bill's POV which means that the romance is finally coming up, yay!**

**If any of you are thinking that the way Hermione and Sirius act around each other makes it appear they could have romantic feelings then there is an explanation. This story is still a Hermione/Bill fic, but Hermione and Sirius have an incredibly close friendship and so they are comfortable acting the way they do. Sorry to anyone who wishes it, but this story won't become Hermione/Sirius.**


	23. Interlude: Bill

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

**Interlude: Bill**

Bill had never had a great romance until Fleur. Sure he'd dated loads of girls, they'd flocked towards his good looks and charming personality, but none of them had ever been serious until Fleur. He'd been entranced when she'd come to work at Gringotts and it seemed the same for her in regards to himself. English lessons turned into friendly conversations and they eventually turned into dates and then an engagement.

Theirs was a whirlwind romance and he ignored anyone, like his mother, who told him that they weren't right for each other, that it was too fast. How stupid he'd felt when they'd been proved right and she'd gone off and left him once he'd been savaged by Greyback. Apparently the scars and the slight personality change were too much for her, she needed perfect and he no longer fit into that category.

Most girls who used to fancy him had backed off after the attack, he guessed the scars scared them, they scared him sometimes. Only his family and the Order didn't treat him any differently and he particularly remembered an incident after his attack with one Hermione Granger.

He didn't really know her well at that point, he'd met her at the Quidditch World Cup and then occasionally at Grimmauld Place during the holidays. He only really got to know her better after the attack on Hogwarts where he was mauled by Greyback.

He'd been in the hospital wing covered in blood and scratches when she'd wandered over to him. She'd told him that the others were helping with the clear up and had told her to keep an eye on him. She was the obvious choice since she couldn't help repair the damage with the broken arm she had courtesy of Alecto Carrow and with Madame Pomfrey too busy tending to more serious problems to fix it.

He'd been quiet at first, unwilling to say much and upset about his attack. Suddenly she'd just started talking, telling him random facts she knew and it was just so refreshing to have her act normally, like they were two friends having a conversation rather than injured acquaintances.

With Hermione speaking so freely he soon found himself talking back and half an hour later he knew a multitude of random facts, as well as the basic life story of Hermione Granger. The way she spoke of Remus, so warmly, made him feel much happier, it showed him that she had no prejudice against werewolves and he didn't know why that thought comforted him, but it did.

When the rest of the Order had finished with the clean up and entered the hospital wing to check on the injured Hermione was hustled over to her own bed to have her arm fixed up and Remus sat down next to him. He explained the sorts of experiences he might go through as a half-werewolf and though he was listening he couldn't help but keep one eye on Hermione, sitting patiently in her bed and talking quietly to Ginny.

Fleur wasn't there and he'd find her goodbye letter later on, but at the time he didn't even notice her absence. He'd been startled when Remus had waved a hand in front of his face, not knowing he'd spaced out looking at Hermione. When he'd regained his senses Remus had looked at him with a small smile and said a few words which had made him realise just how much the older man noticed. "She's an amazing girl Bill, kind, generous, brave and loyal. She kept my secret for a year without telling a soul, not even Harry or Ron. She's definitely one of a kind."

And he'd agreed completely with Remus, Hermione was one of a kind. They'd gotten to know each other better when the Order all moved to Hogwarts and he sometimes helped teach training classes when he wasn't working at the bank or negotiating with the goblins. He was hugely impressed with her fighting skills and the way she held under the pressure of fighting wizards older and more experienced than herself.

He guessed that he'd started to see her in a romantic light on Christmas Day when they'd been stuck under the mistletoe. He'd only kissed her quickly to release the spell and both of them had blushed profusely and tried to ignore it. But he couldn't forget how great her lips had felt on his and he found himself thinking about her.

Then there had been the ball and she had looked so beautiful. The red dress had clung to her curves and made her look like the young woman she was rather than the child many still saw her as. He remembered trying to hide the jealousy he'd felt when she'd danced with so many other males, though he knew he had no claim on her and that they were all just friends. The highlight of his night had been the dances he'd shared with her and he had relished being able to hold her in his arms without any questions as to his motives.

That had been two weeks ago and he'd been agonising each day over whether or not he should say something to her, make the first move and see what happened. But there were so many things to consider, the biggest being whether she would reciprocate. He knew she liked him as a friend, but he was unsure if she had any romantic feelings for him.

Then there was the second problem, almost as big as the first. This problem concerned the large amount of overprotective friends Hermione had. He knew they all respected him and liked him, but what would they think of him dating Hermione. He was about ten years older than her and a part werewolf, would they approve?

While the whole Order would have an opinion there were a few he needed to watch out for. Harry, Ron, Remus and Kingsley would all do the 'protective big brother' act and he didn't want to be dealing with their bad sides. Ginny's bat-bogey hex was legendary and Tonks' auror skills could roast him alive. Even Snape was a little protective over her and if he disapproved then Bill would have to watch what he ate and drank for the many poisons that the potions master could easily slip into his food or drink.

Still, he knew that Sirius would be the worst. He'd noticed that ever since the man had returned from the veil he and Hermione had shown an incredibly close relationship, but he hadn't realised it extended back so far until they'd revealed their strong friendship during Christmas lunch. It sort of explained how they'd suddenly become so close when he returned and Bill knew he wouldn't have a chance with Hermione without Sirius' approval.

Sometimes it seemed like a romantic relationship, he escorted her to all their parties, she was the only one he'd listen to beside Remus and Harry, they were constantly hugging. But from what he'd heard the others saying, they were just unbelievably close friends and nothing more.

Well, he would wait and see what she thought of him and if she was willing then he would pursue a relationship with her like he so desperately wanted. One thing he knew for sure was that the powerful witch was one special girl and that if he was lucky enough to be able to date her, he would be one happy wizard.

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**Thanks to all those who reviewed the previous chapter, it was much appreciated; Mwhahahaha18, bluesmidge101 and Readerforlife.**

**Sorry that this chapter is short, but since it's Christmas Eve (at least where I am in the UK) I'm putting another chapter up straight after this, though that one isn't as long as normal. However, it is the chapter where Hermione and Bill finally get together so I hope you enjoy it.**


	24. An Interlude Of Romance

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

**This is the chapter where Hermione and Bill finally get together, so enjoy the fluffiness of romance.**

* * *

**An Interlude Of Romance**

Hermione had known Bill since their brief meeting at the Quidditch World Cup, though she'd barely spoken to him. Still, she remembered him helping her and Ginny from the tent when the death eaters had gone on the rampage and also making sure she had a chair and steaming mug of hot chocolate when they'd all been able to return to the tents.

She'd seen him briefly during the holidays she stayed at the Burrow or Grimmauld Place for, but the first time she'd really noticed him was after the fight at Hogwarts, when they were both stuck in the Hospital Wing. He'd been so nice and she hadn't noticed the fading scars, he'd seemed so good looking to her. They'd struck up their friendship from there and she'd always been just able to contain her blushes around him until the mistletoe episode during Christmas lunch and then their dances at the Ball.

That was the reason that she was having a very hard time concentrating in the late night duelling session she was in with the other teens. They had one duelling session a week just before they went to bed because the Order felt that they should practice fighting in harder conditions, like when they were tired.

Unfortunately for her, Bill had to help out because Kingsley was out at the Ministry. She found herself looking at him constantly and her inattention meant she had a few close calls and only just managed to block a particularly bad hex Remus had sent her way.

Once the lesson was over Remus called her over and seemed rather concerned, "are you ok Mione, you seemed a bit distracted today?" Hermione felt guilty at her lack of attention, "sorry Remus, I was finding it hard to concentrate, lots of work on my mind. I'll do better next time."

Remus laughed, "it's not a problem Mione, if that's how you duel when your mind is only half on the fight then I can't wait to see what you're like when you give it 100% focus." He patted her on the back and disappeared out of the door with an arm round Tonks. They were closely followed by Harry and Ron, who had been duelling Bill, and then the rest of the group.

She headed over to pick her things up, but became distracted by a book Moody had left behind on the pros and cons of defensive duelling vs. offensive duelling. She became so absorbed in the book that she didn't notice that everybody but one had long ago left the room until she heard a noise behind her. She dropped the book back where it had been and turned to see Bill just finishing up the tidying.

He smiled brightly when he saw her and she returned it with a shy smile of her own, accompanied of course with a deep blush. "Oh, hey Bill, I didn't realise everyone had gone, I kinda got caught up in the book." He laughed, "yes, that does sound like you Mione." He'd finished up cleaning and was picking up his stuff too.

They exchanged a few comments about the lesson and she giggled as he recounted his duel with Ron; the poor boy had used the spell Flitwick had warned them about in their first year and had said 's' instead of 'f'. He had in fact ended up on the floor with a buffalo on his chest, just as Wizard Baruffio had. She didn't know how she could have missed that, but Bill informed her that it had been while she was in the bathroom.

She couldn't help but feel pleased that he'd been noticing where she was and when she wasn't there, even if it was just because she'd gone to the loo.

Hermione abruptly realised just how close they were standing and felt her heart race and a faint blush creep up her cheeks. Bill took her hand and she marvelled at how such a simple touch could make her feel so much. "I like you Mione, so much, but can we really do this, I mean so many variables and you've just discovered some huge destiny you have."

His voice was husky and filled with emotion and it made her want him even more and she gave him a tentative smile. "I like you too Bill, actually I've liked you since the quidditch world cup but never mind that. Who cares about variables and expectations when we both like each other, it doesn't matter to me and hopefully it doesn't matter to you. As for my destiny, I see no reason why it should affect this, after all, Dumbledore always says that love makes us stronger."

The emotion in her voice made him smile, her passion for things was one of the things that attracted him to her in the first place, before he'd even met Fleur. "Ok" was all he said before his lips came crashing down on hers in a kiss full of fiery intensity. For Bill it was so much better than Fleur's delicate pecks and for Hermione so much more than Viktor's rough kisses.

They both felt the emotion in that kiss, hidden feelings and secret longings. Hermione broke the kiss after a minute and asked in a breathless voice, "so does this mean we're a couple now?" Bill smiled at her, "yes, I do believe it does." With that he was kissing her again with renewed vigour and she enjoyed every moment of the ecstasy.

* * *

Both were so caught up that they didn't notice the door open and three men enter before a slight cough alerted them that someone else was in the room. They pulled away from each other immediately and both went scarlet. Hermione lifted her head slightly to see who had interrupted them and almost died of mortification when she saw who was standing there; Remus, Sirius and Kingsley, three men she saw like father figures and also all very powerful wizards who could very well end up hurting Bill. Damn!

"Hermione," said Remus in a soft but potentially deadly voice, "I think its time you went up to bed, we'll see you in the morning." She couldn't do anything but nod, not daring to ask if Bill could leave too. She left as quickly as possible, her face still red, but that didn't stop her throwing Sirius a very dirty look when he inclined his head towards Bill and smirked.

She couldn't get out of the room fast enough, though with a huge feeling of guilt for leaving Bill to the mercy of the three men. She managed to catch his eye on the way out and he gave her a tiny nod and smile, she was glad he understood that this was something that needed doing, though she may not have chosen right that moment as the best time.

Exiting the room she closed the door softly and then put her ear to it in an attempt to hear what was being said. But someone must have put a silencing spell on the room for she couldn't hear a thing. Then after only a minute the door faded away, as its magic prevented it being discovered.

Realising she wasn't about to hear anything that night she decided to do as Remus had suggested and head to bed. She would just send a note to Bill's chambers for when he got back, telling him to meet her and discuss how they were going to handle the situation the next morning. She only hoped they got a chance to tell the others before anyone else did, Molly would never forgive them if she had to find out who her eldest son was dating through someone else.

As she headed back to Gryffindor Tower, after sneaking by to Bill's quarters to leave him the note, she resorted to placing a weak cooling charm on herself to dispel the blush left from Bill's kisses. She didn't wish to explain her new relationship to anyone at the moment, not until she'd had chance to talk to Bill. She tried not to think of the next day, it felt too much like Judgement Day for her.

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**If you are wondering about the spell mentioned to them by Flitwick in the first book, the name is never mentioned and all that is said is that the wizard said s instead of f and ended up with the buffalo on his chest. For the passage I am referring to, see chapter 10 'Halloween' / page 126 of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.**

**Next chapter should hopefully be up in a few days, but I may be delayed by Christmas and any new books/dvds/games I may get so sorry if it is a bit late. Next chapter will be when everyone finds out about Hermione and Bill, but don't worry because no one will react too badly.**


	25. Letting People Know

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter and the fluff it contains.**

* * *

**Letting People Know**

Hermione woke early the next morning and Bill met her in the room of requirement at eight, as her note had requested. They spoke for a little while and finally agreed that they'd just walk in together at breakfast and confirm that they were dating when the inevitable question came.

Bill also told her the contents of his conversation with Sirius, Remus and Kingsley the night before. It had apparently been the usual sort of 'hurt her and we'll kill you' conversation and Hermione was just glad that they hadn't got violent. However, she was still wondering how long she'd have to undergo teasing from the three men over them catching her kissing Bill. Merlin, she couldn't think about that moment without cringing, it was just too embarrassing. She hated been caught in awkward situations and she thought that had to be one of the worst.

She had asked him in whispered tones what Sirius had said and he'd known that she wouldn't continue the relationship without his approval. Bill had described Sirius' words to him about how lucky he was and how he better not screw it up. He'd reiterated the warning about what would happen if Bill hurt her, making sure he knew that he'd respond with twice as much violence as the rest. But when asked whether he was ok with it, Sirius had softened and told Bill that Hermione would do well with him and that he approved.

Hermione had been incredibly relieved, but she also knew she was in for a lot of teasing from the animagus, if his wink at the scene he'd walked in on the previous night was anything to go by. That would get tiresome, Sirius just loved to tease and he'd be irrepressible now that she finally had a boyfriend.

She fidgeted the whole way down to the Great Hall, jumping slightly at every noise until Bill finally told her to relax, gripping her hand in his warm one and soothing her frazzled nerves with just a few whispered words. "But Harry and Ron," Hermione moaned out, "they're going to kill me, or you … or maybe even both of us. Damn it, remind me why we're not hiding this."

Bill just laughed, "relax Mione, we are telling them because we shouldn't have to hide it and all our friends have the right to know. Anyway, Remus, Sirius and Kingsley have already found out so it isn't like it would stay hidden long. As for Ron and Harry, they're your best friends and they will be happy for us, even if it takes some time to get used to it."

Hermione kissed him then, because what he said to reassure her reminded her of why she liked him so much. He could calm her in a way that only her very closest friends could, he was carefree and happy despite the evil looming over the horizon, yet he would always reassure her when she was worried.

He smiled again and she smiled back, though she began to frown when the reached the doors of the Great Hall, "you know it'll be really busy now Bill," she said to her amused boyfriend, "why don't we go somewhere else and come back later when there's less people, preferably no one."

She began to drag him away from the door, but he stayed resolute and since he was a good deal taller than her, not to mention his muscle, he easily stopped her escaping and just threw open the door, half dragging her in with him. Her protests soon turned to laughter and she leaned up to kiss him again, forgetting the fact that they were now in the Great Hall.

The pair broke apart when Hermione became suspicious about the lack of noise, only to be faced with a completely silent crowd, all of them staring at her and Bill in shock.

"Oh shit."

* * *

You could have heard a pin drop until the rarity of Hermione swearing seemed to bring everyone out of their daze. Mrs Weasley rushed up to the two of them and Hermione prepared herself for the onslaught she knew was coming, though whether it would be one of disapproval or happiness she was unsure of.

Ten seconds and a warm hug later she was overjoyed to discover that it was the latter emotion. The stark relief, mixed in with residue worry, must have shown on her face because as she looked over into a corner of the room, she could see Remus and Kingsley smiling, while Sirius outright laughed, at her worry.

She threw the trio of men a dirty look, which only served to make them laugh harder, before turning away from Mrs Weasley, who was now hugging Bill, towards Harry and Ron. Harry's mouth was curved upwards in a small smile, while Ron was gaping rather unattractively at her, but neither of them appeared to be shouting so she knew it couldn't be too bad.

She slipped past Charlie, who was patting his brother on the back, sidestepping Ginny before she could get too angry about not being informed of the new development and then she stopped in front of her two best friends. Harry seemed to be analysing her, while Ron continued spluttering and looking between her and Bill with confusion.

"Is it what you really want Mione?" asked Harry after a few moments, looking over her shoulder towards Bill. She didn't hesitate in her answer, "yes Harry, he's exactly the sort of guy I've been looking for and I just hope you and Ron are ok with it."

Harry nodded seriously, since Ron still seemed incapable of actual speech, "if you're sure Mione. We both know you well enough to realise that Bill's wolfish characteristics won't affect your view, but what about the age difference?" Hermione smiled at him, "yes, I knew that little detail might cause you concern but I am of age, in both the wizarding and muggle world. Anyway, you only have to look at a couple like Remus and Tonks, who are married and expecting a baby, to know that age difference doesn't matter if you are compatible."

Harry nodded again, "ok Mione, but just remember that Ron and I will always be around to hex him into oblivion if he hurts you, okay." She laughed then and turned to Ron, who had finally stopped muttering under his breath, "what about you Ron, what do you think?" She knew that this had the potential to be difficult, due to the fact that Bill was Ron's brother, but she hoped he would be ok with it.

Her other best friend screwed his face up before smiling, "it's ok Mione, I'm not gonna start screaming … though I might have if this had happened a year or two ago. It's a little weird because he is my brother but I suppose it could have been worse and you could have got with Fred or George," he told her, ignoring the twin cries of indignation. "if that had happened then we wouldn't just have mayhem, but it would be intelligent mayhem." He shuddered at the thought, while she and Harry laughed along with him.

"But seriously Hermione," he told her, "you're one of my two best friends and it's like with Ginny, there's never going to be a guy good enough for you. Harry comes damn close for Ginny, at least I know he's a decent bloke … and I guess the same can be said for Bill, he's a great person and he'll be good for you, maybe even get you to let loose occasionally." He winced as she whacked him for that comment, muttering something under his breath about bloody women and their obsession with hitting him (after all, Hermione and Ginny did it practically every day).

She couldn't help but throw her arms round both Harry and Ron to pull them in for a hug, so ecstatic that they were accepting her relationship with Bill without too much fuss. They slipped away after a few minutes and she was momentarily worried when she saw them talking to Bill, but relaxed when she saw smiles on the faces of all three.

* * *

However, Hermione's expression turned from one of contentment to fear when she saw both Ginny and Tonks stalking towards her with expressions of anger. Before she could escape, they both grabbed an arm each and wrenched her down onto a bench in between them. "Why didn't you tell us?" were the first words out of Ginny's mouth, before Tonks added her bit, "yeah Mione, I mean if there is anyone who knows about lycanthropy and older men then it's me."

Hermione smiled at the two of them sheepishly, "I know you feel left out, but honestly I didn't do it to annoy you. I didn't think my fancies would ever get me anywhere in reality, never dreamed that he might actually like me back and so I didn't want the two of you to get your hopes up or get mine up."

Ginny sighed, "yes but we would have helped you, I know practically everything about Bill, he is my favourite brother after all, and like Tonks said, she knows about older men with lycanthropy so that would have helped." Hermione laughed and shook her head, "Gin, I know what your version of helping would be. You and Tonks would come up with a ridiculous plan that I would have refused to go through with and that would result in you persuading Tonks to morph into me to put the plan into action yourselves and then she'd do something ridiculous and I would have been humiliated and unable to look Bill in the face for a month."

The two looked vaguely shamefaced for a minute, unwilling to admit the truth of Hermione's statement, until Ginny spoke flippantly, "I'm sure it would have worked out in the end, these things always do in the end." That just caused an outburst of laughter among Hermione and Tonks at the all-knowing tone Ginny used, making her sound more like her mother than the girl would ever care to admit. Soon Ginny was laughing along as well and once Hermione had suitably apologised for not sharing her crush, she was allowed to leave the table.

She passed by the twins, who both asked in wounded, yet joking tones, what their brother had that they didn't. She answered them in an equally jovial voice, telling them that Bill had sanity, which was sadly lacking in both of them. They merely ruffled her hair, much to her annoyance, and told her that she'd realise that they were so much better than Bill in the end, before walking off laughing. She shook her head at their antics and walked over to Luna, who was standing with Blaise. Both offered congratulations, Luna predicting a good future to their relationships because the Marklops were in season. Hermione just nodded, pretending she actually knew what Marklops where, until Blaise cut Luna off with his own smile and quiet best wishes.

She passed by Draco, who actually hugged her, a rarity for him, before cheerfully telling her that if "the older weasel hurts you then I'll happily hex him for you." She supposed that was rather nice of him, though she did wish he'd quit referring to the Weasley's as 'weasel', but at least he'd stopped doing it to their faces unless he was angry. Snape, who had quietly materialised behind her and Draco as they were talking, offered her any poison if Bill displeased her, even going so far as to offer his services to administer it. She quickly told him that it wouldn't be necessary and he seemed a little too disappointed, but she knew he was happy for her.

Warm best wishes came from the rest of the Order, even Moody, who approved of Bill due to his curse-breaking experience until she finally reached the man himself. He ignored the catcalls (mostly from Fred, George and Sirius) to lean down and kiss her soundly and in that moment her mind forgot Voldemort, her heritage, the war and everyone around her. In that moment her only thought was Bill.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last two chapters; kk1999, Readerforlife and .sarah (again sorry about the username not showing up right), it was much appreciated. Also thanks to , who reviewed chapters 20 and 21.**

**You may notice that while Bill mentions the conversation he had with Sirius, Remus and Kingsley about Hermione, she doesn't actually talk to them herself, except when she sees them laughing. However, she will have her talk with the three of them, not in the next chapter (which is an interlude from Molly Weasley's POV), but in the chapter after that.**

**For anyone who is interested, in my story Ginny's favourite brother is Bill and it is hinted at in the book series. In this story Bill is her favourite, closely followed by the twins and Charlie, then Ron. However all of them are close and the difference in her favouritism is minimal. As for Percy, he was always her least favourite, but now he's hit rock bottom because of refusing to believe Harry and Dumbledore even after the battle at the Department of Mysteries and because he is still working for the Ministry, not helping the Order. **

**For the record, Marklops are my own creation and I haven't made up anything about them, I just wanted a new, strange creature that only Luna understands and made up a random name for it.**

**Next chapter should be up in a few days as normal and I hope everyone had a merry Christmas (I know I did).**


	26. Interlude: Molly

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter** **and sorry it is a bit shorter than normal but I ran out of inspiration for this part.**

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**Interlude: Molly**

Molly Weasley was a rather powerful witch, though many people missed it under her maternal exterior. She had never had any aspiration other than to marry the love of her life and raise a family. She had managed that well - she and Arthur were as happy as they had been on their wedding day thirty years ago with seven beautiful children who had all turned out well (she was still hoping Percy would come around).

Molly was also intelligent and she knew almost everything when it came to her beloved children. She'd known when Fred and George were hiding joke shop stock, when Charlie had gotten a hidden tattoo, when Ginny and Harry began a sexual relationship and also when Bill and Hermione started to see each other in a romantic light.

She'd been delighted when she realised the last piece of information, it had been her dream to make Hermione a proper member of the family for years. At first she had thought it was bound to be her little Ron that Hermione became attached to, but she eventually discovered that the pair really were better off as friends. It had been a shock when Bill and Hermione had begun to show subtle, mutual interest in each other - there was an issue of the ten year age gap, but Remus and Tonks had thirteen years between them and Molly thought they were perfect for each other.

She'd been the first to notice when Bill came into the Great Hall with Hermione and she smiled to herself when she noticed their intertwined hands, hoping that they were finally going to admit their feelings. She hadn't expected the two of them to suddenly begin kissing in front of everyone. While Bill certainly wasn't shy, he'd been a bit less wild since his attack and Hermione was almost always the model of decorum.

When the two finally broke apart and Hermione went bright red she realised the poor girl hadn't realised she'd entered the Great Hall. She decided it was best for her to intervene when she heard Hermione swear and hurried towards her oldest son and the girl she saw as a second daughter.

She refrained from smiling when she saw a brief rush of fear cross Hermione's face, knowing that the girl was afraid she would disapprove. Why on earth would she do that, Molly loved Hermione and apart from that little misunderstanding involving Harry in the trio's fourth year, she had always treated her as such. She was glad when she felt Hermione's relief as she swept her into a hug, whispering her congratulations.

She broke away from Hermione after a few minutes and rushed up to Bill as Hermione headed over to Ron and Harry. She pulled her oldest son into a hug, pinching his cheeks (much to his chagrin) as she spoke, "I'm so happy Bill, she's such a good girl and I've been waiting for ages for you to settle down. Fleur never was right for you," she spoke the part-veela's name with disapproval.

"Thanks mum," he told her, "I'm glad you approve." Silly boy, she thought maternally, of course I approve. She's so much better than that stuck up French hussy he'd cavorted with before. Hermione would never leave her son just because of a few scars.

The thought of Bill and Hermione together made her smile all over again and she hugged her son even more, "I'll have to make sure she gets the Weasley jumper at Christmas," she mused to herself. "Come to think of it, why haven't I given her one before, she's practically family anyway. Oh well, I have all year to pick out colour schemes, maybe to match Bill's. Thank goodness it's only January."

She stopped muttering to herself when she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see her husband smiling ruefully, "I'm sure Hermione will be delighted to be included in the jumper scheme next Christmas, Molly dear, but you'll have plenty of time to think about it later. Right now, you may want to rescue Hermione from Fred and George, they seem to be interrogating her."

Molly turned her head in the direction indicated and spotted Fred and George by Hermione. Shaking her head she headed towards the trio, "honestly, those two are so immature, they better not try and ruin this for their brother. Bill deserves some happiness and I'll be damned if those two try and annoy him and Hermione."

* * *

After berating the twins for harassing Hermione and then lecturing Ginny after she attacked the girl for details, Molly returned back to Bill just in time to chastise Charlie for the inappropriate jokes he was making about Bill's new relationship to the man in question before she saw the three men in the corner.

The first two immediately stopped laughing when they saw her scathing glare, but the third (Sirius obviously) remained unaffected and smiling. Walking over to the three of them, she smiled as Remus and Kingsley coughed and looked away - she did love being able to strike fear into the hearts of grown men, it made things so much easier. Sirius, as usual, just smiled at her in a failed attempt to charm her.

"Sirius Black, knowing you as well as I am unfortunate enough to, I am guessing that you already knew about Bill and Hermione. However, that does not give you the right to taunt her about having a boyfriend as I know you were planning on doing and don't you dare try and give her any of your romantic advice because I doubt its suitable for an eighteen year old girl."

Sirius just gave a carefree smile and waved his hand in a dismissive motion, "calm down Molly, I would never taunt Mione, though I am not adverse to a little teasing. As for my romantic advice, I'll have you know that I was the Hogwarts casanova back in my day, why wouldn't someone want advice from me."

"And that is exactly why you shouldn't be giving Hermione, or any of the children for that matter, advice on romantic relationships," Molly muttered to herself. Ignoring the cocky animagus she turned to the more sensible two, "Remus, Kingsley, I trust you will try and control Sirius because I won't be pleased if he upsets Hermione."

The two men nodded sheepishly and she smiled, content in the fact that the two would endeavour to control their friend rather than risk the wrath they knew she was capable of. Now that was sorted she decided she'd go back to her quarters with Arthur to have some peace and quiet to chat and maybe knit some clothes for the baby Tonks and Remus would be welcoming in eight months. And there was no harm in looking through a few wedding magazines as well … after all war often led to a lot of shot gun weddings and she wanted to be prepared in case Bill and Hermione decided to tie the knot.

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**Thanks to all those who reviewed the previous chapter, it was much appreciated; SweetSweetRevenge, tsatarcher, Mwhahahaha18, Readerforlife, LoveIt123, jinxiepops and ladygoddess8.**

**I know some of you might think Molly would have a more intense view, but she loves her children and has always loved Hermione, despite the little Witch Weekly incident in the trio's fourth year. It is also mentioned in the sixth book that Mrs Weasley tries to get Remus to come to his senses and date Tonks. This means that she has no issue with age difference or lycanthropy if the couple are compatible. **

**I added the last little bit because Molly has the sort of personality that would start planning her children's weddings as soon as they got a serious girlfriend or boyfriend. In my mind she's been planning Ginny's wedding to Harry for years.**

**Next chapter will be out in a few days as normal and will see Sirius, Remus and Kingsley talk to Hermione about Bill, as well as letting us all see Hermione let loose a bit more than usual. The only hint I will give is that the next chapter is titled 'Poker Night'.**


	27. Poker Night

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

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**Poker Night**

Hermione had a good girl image, it had been like that since she was small and to most it was the image that remained. The majority of the Order made up the group who actually knew the real Hermione Granger. This girl drank shots with an ex-convict, battled death eaters and spent time in the company of a werewolf, aurors, a slightly barmy, yet brilliant Albus Dumbledore and a paranoid Mad-Eye Moody, not to mention the Boy Who Lived.

Incidentally, she also took part in the monthly poker games held in Sirius' rooms in Hogwarts. These poker games had begun when the Order had made Hogwarts their new unofficial headquarters and everyone had moved there. Every game included the same group of five people and though many desperately wished it, no one else was ever permitted to enter. It was their thing, they being Sirius, Hermione, Remus, Kingsley and Tonks.

No one questioned the strangeness of Hermione playing poker with three older men and a very hyper, accident-prone metamorphagus. The only ones to ever express some worry were Molly Weasley and Minerva McGonagall and both their arguments against the nights tended to centre on Sirius' generally immoral behaviour. But Hermione never relented and the poker nights went on as always.

Now at these sort of things, with such a variety of characters attending, things were bound to get wild pretty soon. And things did. Surprisingly the worry most shared by Molly and Minerva, which was Hermione ending up in some sexual, compromising position with one of the three gorgeous older men present, never happened. Hermione might have a streak of rebellion, but she was still sensible and now she had Bill she was perfectly content, just glad he didn't mind their monthly poker night.

She couldn't say the same about Tonks and Remus, who sometimes ended up in very heated positions after they'd had a little too much to drink, much to the amusement of the other three.

While there was no sexual activity between Hermione and any of the three men, that didn't mean they didn't hide many of their activities from the formidable Mrs Weasley and Professor McGonagall. Drink always flowed in abundance at these nights, Sirius was a great lover of firewhiskey and that was their normal beverage and if Molly had known then Hermione would have been forcibly dragged away from the games. But, as Remus had said in an uncharacteristically irresponsible way, "what Molly doesn't know won't hurt her."

The language that always seemed to end up employed when someone got a bad hand would make a sailor blush and they'd had a close call when Mrs Weasley had almost walked in on them all half naked. They hadn't dared play strip poker since.

It was always funny when they all woke up the next morning, almost always hung-over, trying to piece together what they'd managed to get up to the night before. For most of them it involved some embarrassing stunt, Tonks had normally broken a few things and in a very drunk moment Sirius had made a sexual innuendo involving his cousin, whose hair had gone bright red in embarrassment. They hadn't discussed the incident since then.

They normally tried to meet around lunchtime in the room of requirement the day after their poker game. While there they shared out the sober-up potion Hermione had brewed and worked together to discern exactly who had said and done what the night before. They also renewed the vow not to discuss what had happened during the game with anyone but themselves, in order to save from more mortification.

Hermione knew that Harry, Ron and Ginny would give their left arms to know the sort of thing that went on or to be included in one of the games, but Hermione would never consent. She'd done her fair share of awkward things during the run of games and had no desire for them to be revealed because she'd spilled the beans to her best friends.

* * *

It was now the first poker evening she'd attended since she'd begun dating Bill two weeks previously and she was sure to remind him that she was not be disturbed until the next evening, not trying to hide the fact that she would almost certainly be hung-over and tired. Luckily Bill hadn't been bothered, he knew that she needed time with her friends and that the poker games were important to her. He'd merely kissed her, wished her luck in the game and told her he'd come see her the next evening.

She smiled as she headed towards Sirius' rooms, it was so fantastic to have such an understanding boyfriend, not many would like her heading to a late night poker game with the reputation their games had. She was a little worried since it would be the first time she was alone with Sirius, Remus and Kingsley since the night she first kissed Bill (Tonks was taking a break from the alcohol fuelled poker nights until her pregnancy was over) and she knew they would want to talk to her about her new boyfriend.

Her guess was confirmed when she turned up at Sirius' quarters at eight-thirty and was promptly dragged into the room and dumped in a seat across from Sirius, Remus and Kingsley. She gave the three of them a scathing look as Sirius sat down with the words, "target acquired, commence questioning." Great, he'd been watching more muggle action films.

"Sirius, this isn't an interrogation or a spy film so please stop treating it as such," she told him, "I know you're going to want to talk about Bill so you might as well get on with it so we can poker and I can whip your butt like I normally do." Remus and Kingsley snickered quietly while Sirius pouted, both at being told to grow up and at the insinuation that she would beat him (even though she almost always did). "Way to spoil my fun Mione," he muttered mutinously, but he did seem to calm down a bit and for that she was thankful.

"Look Hermione," explained Kingsley, "we just want to have a small chat about your new boyfriend, to make sure you are completely happy." He gave her a concerned smile and she found her frown fall off her face, she knew they were just trying to protect her, even if they (well Sirius mostly) were sometimes using it as an opportunity to tease her.

She gave them a patient smile, "I know the two of you have my best interests in heart," she told Remus and Kingsley. "And you have my best interests in mind most of the time, though the rest of the time you're just looking for some amusement," she said to Sirius, "so ask your questions."

* * *

"Well we had a little talk with Bill," Remus told her, "once we'd sent you to bed after catching the two of you in the room of requirement." Hermione scowled, "yes, that wasn't very nice, I was convinced you'd end up killing poor Bill, do you not realise how scary you looked Remus, your eyes were flashing amber. Then there was Kingsley being all aurorish and Sirius just standing there snickering."

Remus had the sense to look a little ashamed, as did Kingsley, however Sirius just shrugged, "if I can't tease you about having a boyfriend what am I supposed to do Mione. I've already harassed Remus enough about Tonks and it gets boring." Hermione rolled her eyes, "what about Harry eh, I haven't seen you annoy him at all and he's been dating Ginny a lot longer than I've been with Bill."

"Are you bloody kidding me," asked Sirius with shock, "Harry's girlfriend is the mistress of the infamous bat-bogey hex and I rather like my face as it is thank you very much." Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, "Sirius I am just as capable as Ginny of making you suffer and if you push me too far then even a troll wouldn't want to date you."

Sirius whimpered while Hermione fixed Remus and Sirius with her best glare, "now will you please tell me what you said to Bill?" Kingsley just nodded mutely, "just a few warnings, threats if he hurt you … all the usual stuff." She just nodded calmly and Kingsley let out a sigh of relief. "Now what did you want to say to me?" she asked the three men.

Sirius, who had just recovered from Hermione's threats, spoke with less bravado than he normally did, "we just want to make sure he's good for you. We know his age isn't an issue, after all you're probably more mature than most people his age." She nodded, it was true, then smiled as Remus muttered under his breath, "and she's probably more mature than you on your best day Padfoot."

Remus spoke up louder then, "his part lycanthropy isn't an issue either, we know you're capable of handling it and I for one would be a hypocrite if I disapproved of the relationship due to age or lycanthropy. But Bill is more experienced when it comes to relationships and while I'm sure you aren't naïve to the mechanics you've never had much experience and we want you to be sure it's what you want." Seeing Hermione's disgruntled expression at her relationship experience being negated Kingsley finished up, "we just don't want to see you hurt Mione."

She smiled at the three men she considered some of her closest friends, "I appreciate your concern and I understand your worries, but I want to explore the possibility of a relationship with Bill, I really like him. If it doesn't work out then it obviously wasn't meant to be but you must promise me that you won't hurt him if the relationship ends because I doubt it would be his fault."

The men nodded reluctantly, though she was unable to budge them on the issue of their promise to 'talk' with Bill if he did anything at all to hurt her. With the more serious conversation out of the way they finally got to their game of poker and soon their minds were only on the game and in winning as much as possible.

* * *

However, later on, when Kingsley had claimed the majority of the money and Hermione most of the remaining amount, Remus had left to see to Tonks and Kingsley had gone to sleep off his impending hangover, while a remarkably sober Sirius (considering the amount of alcohol he had consumed that evening) and a philosophical Hermione (she always got like that when she'd had too much to drink) were sitting on the sofas in Sirius' rooms with yet more firewhiskey, discussing the meaning of their existence (remember Hermione was feeling philosophical and Sirius just loved spouting rubbish).

"I don't care what the other two say," Sirius told her during a break in their conversation, "if Bill Weasley hurts you then I will personally ensure that he will regret it wholeheartedly. You deserve only the best and that is what I will ensure that you get." Hermione knew not to argue with Sirius when he got so protective and she just hugged him, "thanks Sirius, that means a lot to me."

When no answer came from the man, she peered at him to see that he'd fallen asleep, as he was prone to do after drinking so much. Levitating him to his bedroom and onto his bed, she pressed a kiss to his cheek and slipped out of the room. She quickly transfigured his sofa into a single bed, knowing that he would lecture her about damaging her back or something silly like that if she slept on the sofa.

Since Hermione always stayed later than Remus, Tonks and Kingsley after the poker games to talk to Sirius, Dumbledore had insisted that she stay in Sirius' quarters afterwards. Everyone knew that Sirius would be in no state to take Hermione back to Gryffindor Tower after one of their poker games and no one wanted Hermione (especially when she was drunk) wandering around the castle at some ungodly hour on her own.

Snuggling under the covers of her transfigured bed, the last thoughts Hermione had before she slipped into sleep were that one, Bill would be in serious trouble if he ever hurt her and two, she was going to have a hell of a hangover the next day.

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**Thanks to all those who reviewed the previous chapter, it was very much appreciated; SweetSweetRevenge, Readerforlife, LoveIt123 and HSCswimmer. **

**The next chapter, which will focus on a chat between Hermione, Tonks and Ginny, will be up in a few days hopefully, though with revision and school starting back soon it may not be up till the end of the week. **


	28. Ginny And Tonks: Agony Aunts

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter and sorry it is a little late.**

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**Ginny and Tonks: Agony Aunts**

Now whatever impression the poker nights might give, Hermione did enjoy the company of close female friends. However, she had spent many school years with Harry and Ron as her closest friends and was much more used to the company of boys. This, combined with her studious nature, meant she was not a frivolous girly girl and so she only really had three close female friends; Ginny, Tonks and Luna.

She was very thankful for these friends one day a few weeks after she had started dating Bill. While Harry, Ron, Sirius, Remus and Kingsley were all well and good, they were not the people she wished to discuss the inner workings of her relationship with because they either wouldn't understand, would tease or would end up trying to kill Bill if she even hinted at a molecule of unhappiness.

It was because of a slight issue she'd been having with Bill the past few days that she'd decided it was time to have a little girly chat. Her lessons were over at two in the afternoon and since both the cup and locket had been destroyed recently Dumbledore had told her to have a break and take some time off concerning research on the one horcrux they were unsure on.

So she checked that both Ginny and Tonks were free to have a chat in the room of requirement and thankfully both of them were. She'd asked Luna too, but the dreamy girl had mentioned some plans she had with Blaise and politely declined. Hermione had shook her head at that, she didn't know when Luna and Blaise were going to stop dancing round each other and actually date, it was so obvious that they were good for each other.

Both Ginny and Tonks had questioned Hermione on the reason she wanted to talk to them, but she remained vague, citing some relationship issues with Bill. Her two friends knew Hermione well enough to know that she was a little upset and therefore they agreed immediately and Hermione went off to her first lesson with less anxiety than she had displayed previously.

* * *

At 2.15 that afternoon, Hermione and Ginny were settled in the room of requirement, which was now a cosy sitting room with a roaring fire and soft, squashy arm chairs. The two girls were giggling over something stupid that Ron and Harry had managed to do during transfiguration when Tonks stumbled in, having tripped over the door frame. "Damnit, my foot," she cursed loudly, hopping up and down, "sorry I'm late Mione, Gin, Moody held us back at the Ministry to give us another 'constant vigilance' lecture. Like we haven't heard it a million times before," she complained to them, before dropping into one of the armchairs ungracefully.

"Right Mione, what's this issue you're having with Bill at the moment, your agony aunts Tonks and Ginny are here to help." Typical Tonks, no tact at all and always gets straight to the issue, thinking about Sirius and Draco though, it must be a Black family trait.

Ginny rolled her eyes playfully, "honestly Tonks you have no idea how to get people to open up, you've got to get them comfortable with the issue first and then jump in with the question." Tonks just screwed her face up in a 'what's the point in that when you can just ask them' look, while Hermione laughed, "don't worry Gin, I won't be hiding anything. After all I did ask you here specifically to have a girly chat and see if you could help me with my problems."

Ginny's eyes widened dramatically, "the great Hermione Granger is asking for help from us … and on a romantic issue too." Hermione threw her a dirty look and Ginny settled down, "so what's wrong Mione, something to do with your relationship with Bill I'm guessing?"

Hermione nodded, "it isn't anything bad, he's been a complete gentleman and I'm really happy with him. It's just that we were having lunch by the lake yesterday, it was really romantic and I was having a great time. But then out of the blue he started talking about how he wasn't good for me and that it was dangerous for me to date him, stuff like that. The gist was that he was too old, a part-lycanthrope and therefore dangerous. I told him it wasn't true and he seemed to drop the issue, but he was off the rest of the day and he hasn't even spoken to me today except to say goodbye."

Tonks shook her head and Ginny hissed in irritation, "my brother can be such a moron at times, though its normally Ron that gets himself into these sorts of stupid situations." Hermione just looked sad and neither one of her friends liked that expression. They sat in silence for a minute until Tonks spoke up, "don't worry Mione, really we're the perfect people to help you. I do have the experience of dating a guy a fair few years older than me who is also a werewolf."

Ginny nodded her head enthusiastically, "yeah, she's right Mione, then I've got the experience of dating Mr Harry - You Can't Date Me Because It's Too Dangerous- Potter, we're the perfect girls to solve your problems." Hermione laughed at Ginny's amusing, though rather accurate, description of Harry and silently mused that Ginny was probably one of the only girls on the planet capable of getting him to break his self-imposed bachelorhood.

Then she had to admit, both Tonks and Ginny had a point in saying they were perfect candidates to help Hermione out since they'd both been in similar situations - and Merlin knows that with her own practically non-existent experience with boys (it's not like Viktor had been much) she certainly needed all the help she could get.

* * *

"I think we'll address the whole age thing first," decided Tonks, while Ginny murmured her agreement and Hermione just nodded. "There are some pretty simple arguments you can use to counter any age issues he might have," the pink-haired metamorphagus told Hermione, "though they're not the ones I usually use with Remus, for your situation they'll be effective I think."

Tonks' suggestions were simple, but likely to be effective. The first was that girls matured faster than boys so maturity wise Hermione was probably only about five or six years younger than Bill. Adding on to that the fact that Hermione was a whole lot more mature and more intelligent than her peers, both Tonks and Ginny estimated that mentally she was about the same age or only a year or two younger than Bill. Well that solved that problem.

As for the whole lycanthropy issue, Tonks had a solution for that as well, "while Bill is only part-lycanthrope I'm sure he has the same sort of issues as Remus does, though perhaps on a lesser scale. You said he's talked a lot about the danger he puts you in?"

"Yes," Hermione agreed, "he thinks that hid new traits might lead to me getting hurt, especially around the full moon. He doesn't class himself very highly." Tonks nodded, "it's the same for Remus, he doesn't see himself as good or safe enough. You just have to remind him that he doesn't turn into a fully fledged wolf and that you will be safe."

Ginny interjected there, "I know something about stubborn men," she told her friend with a wry smile, "after all, all Harry ever seemed to go on about before we started dating was that he was dangerous and that association with him could get me hurt or killed. He still says it sometimes. It's the same sort of thing with you and Bill, but you have to remind him that your friendship with Harry and Voldemort's awareness of your gifts means that you're in plenty of danger already - much more than Bill could ever put you in. You're stubborn Mione and you need to keep showing it, don't let him change your mind or make himself feel he's less than he is."

Tonks nodded earnestly, "us strong, independent females need to stick together Mione, including times we have to kick our boyfriends up the backside to stop them being idiots." Hermione laughed at this, Tonks certainly had a unique way of putting things. "One more thing," Tonks told Hermione, "make sure you reassure him occasionally, Remus is very self-conscious about his scars and I'm betting Bill is too. Since I know you find him attractive, it'll be good to remind him of it as much as you can. It's always worked wonders in making Remus feel better, especially if you stress the point."

Hermione smiled at the pair of them, "thanks, I'll try and remember all that. I'm just so relieved that I can do something about it because I don't think I could cope with Bill feeling so down, it doesn't exactly make me happy." Her two companions just laughed, with Ginny inserting a mutter about why they even bothered to put up with guys most of the time.

With another laugh Hermione flopped down into one of the armchairs, sticking her hand into the bag at her feet and pulling out an item that shocked her two friends - a bottle of firewhiskey. She gave a cheeky smile at their reaction, "I sneaked it out of Sirius' room while he was still asleep the morning after our last poker night, I doubt he'd notice it was gone with the huge stash he's got. I figured that since we've solved my relationship problems that we could celebrate with a drink."

She got her affirmative answer as both her vivacious friends lunged for the bottle at the same time.

* * *

Three days later, both Tonks and Ginny cornered Hermione after an intense training session. All three had been rather busy over the past few days and this was the first opportunity they'd had to discuss whether their advice had been put to use by Hermione and what sorts of results it had yielded.

"It helped a lot guys, so thank you so much," Hermione told them as she pulled each into a tight hug. "I brought it up in the evening, the day of our chat and to start with I had to force him to actually talk about it, he was all about avoiding the issue in typical male fashion. It was hard to start with because he didn't really believe what I was saying, but like you said, I'm stubborn and though it took about two hours I think I finally got through to him."

Ginny squealed with glee while Tonks beamed, "that's so great Mione, I'm pleased for you." The curly haired brunette nodded happily, "yeah, so am I, relieved too. I mean there's still a way to go, I'm pretty sure his worries will surface again at some point but we definitely made progress and now he knows my feelings on the issues he's probably less likely to think about them too often."

More squeals and hugs followed, mostly issued by an excitable Ginny, who loved a good romance. Hermione privately reflected that the two opposite her were some of the few she would ever consider discussing romance with, but despite this she was very glad she had done so - after all it had helped immensely with Bill and she knew they'd always be around to help her - be it during war or relationship crisis' - and she would do the same for them. That was the mark of true friends.

* * *

**Thank you to all those who reviewed the previous chapter, it was very much appreciated; SweetSweetRevenge, Readerforlife, LoveIt123, Angel JJK and HSCswimmer. **

**In answer to the question posed by HSCswimmer, which was about when Bill gets a say on what's going on with Hermione, the next chapter will be an interlude from Tonks' POV, but the chapter after that will include Voldemort's first physical appearance in the story and with it Hermione's first proper encounter with him. She will get to have a conversation with Bill during this chapter and they will discuss what is happening with her powers and the war. **

**Again, sorry about this chapter being a bit late and I'm afraid that I have some exams in the next few weeks so some of my updates may be a little late. However, I will try not to take more than a week for each chapter and I thank you for the patience you will hopefully have with me. It should all be back to normal in a few weeks.**


	29. Interlude: Tonks

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter. **

**By the way, this is Tonks' POV, but the last few lines are Molly's POV because Tonks has left the room.**

* * *

**Interlude: Tonks**

The first thing she realised when she woke was that she was aching all over, but a pleasant ache, which screamed of pleasure the night before. It was right, she'd spent half the night shagging Remus and she grinned at the memory of their rather loud sex - she did love most of the time around the full moon, excepting when Remus transformed.

The smile softened when she saw the sandy brown hair of her husband next to her. She was so happy to finally call him her husband, especially as she felt the barely noticeable bump protruding from her stomach. She hadn't really thought about children until she'd met Remus, but now she couldn't wait for the birth of their first child, she hoped there would be more to come.

Giving her bump one last rub she got out of bed and headed over to her closet to get dressed. It was brilliant being a metamorphagus, you could wear any outfit and always have hair to match. She didn't have any auror work or training the teens that morning so she pulled on her faded blue jeans and an emerald green Weird Sisters top over her head, slipping on a pair of black ballet flats.

She headed over to the mirror and looked at her violet hair - that definitely had to change, especially with this outfit. She screwed her face up in concentration and when she opened her eyes again her hair was long and a glossy raven black, making her look even more like Sirius' cousin than ever. "Perfect," she thought as she admired her reflection in the full length mirror.

She looked over to Remus again, wishing she could spend the morning in bed with him. Sadly, he did have lessons and training sessions to teach all that morning so she was left trying to decide what to do. She would have perhaps gone to train with Moody or Kingsley, but both of them had either auror or training duties all day so that idea was out.

She wanted to go and find Hermione, to see how things were with her and Bill, hopefully still as good as they had been, especially now Hermione had some ways of handling Bill's 'I'm no good for you' attitude. Sadly, Hermione was training that morning as well. Damn it, what was the point in having the morning off if no one else had it off either.

Wracking her brain she ascertained that the only people available that morning were Molly, Narcissa, Maria and Snape. While she was slowly building a tentative relationship with her aunt, she wasn't sure she'd feel totally comfortable going to visit Narcissa on a whim and she really didn't know Maria Zabini well enough to drop in on her.

As for Snape, while she didn't hold him in quite the same hated position as Sirius, Harry and Ron appeared to, she had the same sort of relationship with him as Remus did - she knew he was needed and that he was loyal to Dumbledore and the Order, but she didn't much enjoy his sarcasm and didn't spend too much time around him. She never had worked out how Hermione could stand him, let alone form some kind of friendship. Then again, Hermione was a pretty amazing person and she was well versed in sarcasm, probably from spending so much time getting annoyed with Harry and Ron during their time at Hogwarts.

That left Molly then, she'd always been good for a chat, especially when Tonks had been trying to convince Remus that she loved him and didn't care about his age, lycanthropy or lack of wealth. Molly had always reassured her that he'd come around, "men always do dear, he loves you but he doesn't feel worthy. Keep on at it and he'll come to his senses soon enough." True to Molly's words, Remus had eventually come round and now they were married, expecting a child.

Yes, she would go and see Molly, it had been ages since she'd had a good chat with the Weasley matriarch and it would also occupy her time until she had to go to the Ministry for work. With a purpose in mind she went back over to the bed and dropped a kiss on her just-awake husband's lips, half tripping out of the door with a goodbye on her way to find Molly.

* * *

Tonks managed to make it to the Molly and Arthur's quarters without falling over something, a feat that anyone who knew her would be impressed by, and knocked on the door. She wasn't worried about waking either of the occupants since Arthur had to be in work at the early time of eight in the morning, while Molly was always up early.

A few seconds after her knock the door opened and Molly appeared, "Tonks dear what a lovely surprise, do come in, I've just been making some tea." Tonks smiled at the older woman, "thanks Molly, that would be great." She stepped inside the cosy living room that was part of Molly and Arthur's quarters. It was where Molly spent most of her time, considering that the house elves cooked the food and that unlike Grimmauld Place, Hogwarts did not need a cleaning spree.

She settled down in one of the armchairs by the fire, taking the steaming cup of tea that Molly offered with grateful thanks. Molly sat down in the chair next to her with her own cup, "so what brings you here Tonks?" The perky woman shrugged, "everyone was working or training this morning and I don't have to go into the Ministry till this afternoon. It was either you, Snape, Narcissa or Maria and you are definitely the better choice." Molly sighed, "I understand your hesitance with Narcissa and Maria, but you really have to get over your aversion to Severus, I suppose I should be glad you don't take after Sirius in that respect though."

Tonks laughed, "he might be a snaky bastard at times, but I don't have as many issues with him as Sirius does. Anyway, I couldn't resist a little girly chat about Hermione and Bill." Molly grinned widely at the reminder of her eldest son's new relationship, "I'm so pleased about it Tonks, she's just what he needs and leagues ahead of that French floozy."

Her companion chuckled at Molly's less than favourable description of Fleur and she couldn't help but agree, the woman had been snobby and stuck up. "Yeah, Bill and Hermione compliment each other and their relationship just seems to be going from strength to strength. I do feel sorry for Bill though, having to undergo all the warnings from Mione's overprotective friends."

Molly laughed, "yes, the poor boy was rather overwhelmed, he ending up hiding in here a lot of the time. Hermione had a hard time stopping more of them 'talking' to him and I know she had stern words with Sirius. That man infuriates me, but I guess I have to give him the credit due for watching out so much for Harry and Hermione, though I do not approve of him encouraging underage drinking."

"Well Sirius may be a big kid most of the time, but he does have a strong protective streak for those he cares about. I guess it's lucky Hermione didn't see it when Ron and Harry cornered Bill as few hours after we all found out about his relationship with Mione, she would not have been pleased."

"Yes," Molly said frowning, "I had a word with both of them about that, they might both be younger than Bill but they're powerful. Still, Ron has no right to be lecturing his older brother, especially after what I hear about him and a young Miss Brown last year. But I guess that boys will be boys."

* * *

They chatted a little longer until Molly spoke in a slightly hesitant voice, "now Tonks, I know that Hermione is more likely to go to you or Ginny with issues and so I just wanted to know, she hasn't been having any problems with Bill has she. It's just that they seemed a little off for a few days, though they appear back to normal now."

Tonks smiled reassuringly, "don't worry Molly, there were a few issues for a while but they were sorted out. From what Mione told me Bill was thinking he was unworthy of her, too old and too dangerous. She came to Ginny and I because we have experience with either men who are older and with lycanthropy or men who are reluctant to date because they don't want to put people in danger."

"My poor Bill," said Molly softly, "he was like that in the hospital wing to begin with, but then Hermione talked to him for a while and he seemed better. He didn't even take it too badly when that French girl (she refused to say Fleur's name) walked out on him that night. But he's ok now isn't he?"

Tonks nodded, "from what I know they're good now. I spoke to Hermione and she said that while Bill hadn't fully forgotten about the problems, that he was bringing them up less and seemed more willing to accept that she really loves him and isn't planning on leaving any time soon. I think it'll all work out just fine."

Relief radiated from every fibre of Molly's being and Tonks would have smiled back if she hadn't looked at her watch, "shit - sorry for the language Molly - I'm due at the office in half an hour and I need to get changed into work clothes before flooing. Thanks again for the tea and conversation," she said, standing and hugging Molly.

"Bye dear, come and have another chat sometime soon, us girls seem to be severely outnumbered most of the time. Oh and remember to watch the door, it has a …" she cut off as Tonks tripped out, "… step." Shaking her head as Tonks shouted that she was fine, Molly murmured to herself as she closed the door, "if that woman ever learns to walk ten metres without tripping then I will never complain about Fred and George's ridiculous joke shop again."

Now that was one bet Molly was positive she would win.

* * *

****

Thank you to all those who reviewed the previous chapter, it was very much appreciated; Readerforlife, LoveIt123, .sarah and SweetSweetRevenge.

**I'm glad I managed to get this out in three days - just - and hopefully I can be as prompt with the next few chapters, though as warned the updates might get a bit late closer to my exam on the 29th**** January. **

**The next chapter is about the first physical appearance of Voldemort and Hermione's first actual meeting with him. It will also be where Bill and Hermione get to have a little chat about the dangers surrounding her new powers and Voldemort's interest in her.**

**My list of completed stories, as well as a little info on any future ones I am planning, can be found near the top of the bio section of my page so check it out if you wish. See my favourites for some of the best authors and for some fantastic Harry Potter stories see the following authors:**

**The Golden Duo 22, angelically-devilish, The-Dark-Side-Of-Eden, Ambrosien, Lexi Lupin, grangerous, ., Thennowandalways, RainynDawn, diamond-helen, Dream4 HarryPGinnyW4eva, vamp1987, Platinum Express, Showna EJ, Adriane AWS, Athenian Grace, Countess of Abe, LadySeradeRETURNS and lilmisblack**

**All of my favourite authors are good, but the above as some of the most amazing. Go and enjoy their stories.**


	30. Voldemort's First Appearance

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter. **

* * *

**Voldemort's First Appearance**

Remus and Hermione had been sent to the old Riddle Manor in search of anything that Voldemort may have left behind during his brief residence there in the trio's fourth year. Both decided to check out the study of the first floor to begin with, Hermione thought it might contain some books or papers that could give them some clues about the horcruxes. Remus had stayed back to check something in a room downstairs so Hermione was ahead of him. She entered the room just as Remus got to the stop of the stairs. He was about to follow her in when, to the shock of both, the door between them slammed shut.

* * *

Hermione felt the door slam behind her, but thought it was just a gust of wind so she ignored it until she still didn't hear Remus enter the room. She went over to the door to call him but it wouldn't open, she wrenched at it before pulling out her wand and performing a number of charms such as Alohamora in an attempt to open it. She couldn't even apparate out. She froze when she heard a cold voice chuckle, "it won't open for anyone but me and I won't be thinking of doing that until we've had a little talk." She went rigid, before turning round slowly and looking into the blood red eyes of Voldemort for the first time in her life.

* * *

Remus saw the door slam shut in front of him though he didn't worry, thinking it was just some wind. However, he knew something was wrong when the door wouldn't open back up. He couldn't hear anything going on inside the room and that worried him too, either there was no sound or a silencing charm in place and he would bet the latter since Hermione tended to mutter to herself when she went through books and notes.

He tried to open the door with magic and when that didn't work he tried to apparate inside the room since he'd managed to get a brief glance. When apparation didn't work he knew something was seriously wrong. A few spells determined that there were extremely strong wards around the room. He knew the only dark wizards able to perform such wards were Voldemort and Snape. Since Snape was a spy he would have no reason to be there, meaning it must be Voldemort. Now he was seriously panicking. Remus was extremely talented at removing wards, normally managing it in a matter of minutes. But these wards would take him about half an hour.

He decided to call in the cavalry, Dumbledore would manage the wards much quicker than he would. But for some reason his patronus would not send a message. Further attempts found that he was locked in the house, unable to apparate anywhere and unable to send any form of communication. Just bloody marvellous. He decided he better get to work on the wards, the sooner he got to Hermione, the better. He could only hope she didn't get hurt before he got in there, he'd never forgive himself and he didn't want to face Bill's wrath if he bought her back harmed.

* * *

Hermione was in danger of fainting, she was that petrified. She had never been face to face with Voldemort before and only had Harry's descriptions to go on. He was even more terrifying in real life and she knew now why he was the most feared wizard of the time.

She let go of the door handle and turned to face him, trying to show her Gryffindor courage. He smirked at her attempt at bravery, "so you must be the famous Hermione Granger." She smirked right back, "I might be." He looked her over, "such power in such a little girl." She jutted her chin out, "I am not a little girl," his eyes raked over her body and he leered at her, "no, you most certainly are not." She gave a shudder and felt mildly sickened, she gazed towards the door, praying that Remus was ok and that he'd find a way to get them both out of there.

She looked at Voldemort, "what do you want with me?" He gave a short laugh, "my dear what wouldn't I want with you, heir to not one, but all four founders of Hogwarts, with powers beyond the comprehension of most wizards and witches. But you need not worry yourself right now, I won't be taking you away just yet, but you will join my side sooner or later, though I'd rather it be sooner."

She gave him a look of incredulity and pulled out her wand, "if you think I'm joining your side then you are even more insane than I thought. Why would I join the monster who murdered my parents just to send me a message. I would rather die." He was in front of her in an instant, knocking her wand out of her hand and pinning her to the wall, she knew her wrists would begin to bruise soon. Really it surprised her that Lord Voldemort would use such muggle techniques to control her and she told him so, earning her a slap round the face. She had the sense to not comment that this was yet another 'primitive' muggle action.

She thought about trying to use wandless magic, but she knew it would be best not to reveal it to Voldemort just yet, plus she really hadn't learnt enough for it to really make a difference to her situation. Nothing that could get her out of this situation, even if she had her wand it wouldn't matter - Voldemort was undoubtedly a better dueller than she was.

"Your parents were filthy muggles and no use to you whatsoever. You will join me eventually Hermione and I will tell you why." He did just that, spending about twenty minutes telling her about her place with him, the 'most powerful wizard ever'. In his bloody opinion of course, she thought bitterly, personally she believed Dumbledore to be a more powerful wizard, not to mention a much better person.

Just as she was thinking how great it would be for Remus or some sort of help to appear, she felt a magical shift - one that came only with the breaking of wards - and was immensely relieved when she heard the door being forced open. Voldemort heard it too and he dropped her from the wall, pulling her up and gripping her aching wrist tightly. The door opened and Remus stepped through.

* * *

Remus had finally cracked the wards and he wrenched open the door, scared by what he might possibly find. The scene that met him was Voldemort gripping Hermione tightly by the wrist. Remus' wand was out in an instant but Voldemort made no move to retaliate. Instead he merely leaned down to Hermione and spoke some words softly, but Remus' werewolf senses meant he could hear them, "remember what I said Hermione, it is inevitable." Remus wondered what on earth Voldemort meant, but he had no time to ponder it as Voldemort suddenly disapparated away and he rushed forward to grab Hermione just as she fell into a dead faint.

Gripping the unconscious girl carefully in his arms, Remus took one last look at the room around him, noting a distinct lack of any useful documents and cursing when he realised Voldemort must have taken them with him. Then he pressed his wand to the scarlet and gold Order of the Phoenix tattoo he had on his shoulder and apparated directly out of there and straight into Dumbledore's office.

* * *

Dumbledore's office was rather full, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sirius, Tonks and Kingsley were all waiting for the report due from Hermione and Remus. Moody was detained by other Order business and Arthur and Molly were busy with their family. Some of those present were getting a little edgy since Remus and Hermione had been supposed to arrive back fifteen minutes previously. Sirius had merely joked that both Remus and Hermione were likely to get distracted by immense load of books around and while this was reassuring there was still an edge to the atmosphere in the room.

The sudden apparation of Remus with an unconscious and pale Hermione Granger in his arms did not help the atmosphere at all. Only twenty years of experience fighting Voldemort and Dumbledore's collected demeanour stopped hysteria. The entire group immediately flooed to the hospital wing and while Hermione was being examined by the matron Remus was explaining all he knew about what happened at the Riddle Manor, not being able to get out or contact anyone and Voldemort's presence.

Remus also explained what Voldemort had said to Hermione before he disappeared and Dumbledore ascertained that they would need to talk to Hermione to discover the entire course of events. "What worries me is how Voldemort knew that Miss Granger was going to be at the Riddle house, I trust everyone who knew of the mission. The only explanation is that he has been watching Riddle house or placed some sort of magical alarm. We will have to investigate it soon."

Just as they finished their conversation Madame Pomfrey came over to tell them her findings. "Miss Granger is suffering from shock mostly, but her wrists are bruised and she has a hand print on her face, like she was slapped." Most of those present gave mutters of disgust at this and Dumbledore asked the matron if Hermione was awake yet, to which she replied in the affirmative.

She led them over to Hermione's bed, where the girl was sitting looking a bit dazed and with a darkening mark across most of her right cheek. Dumbledore looked kindly at her, "I'm sorry to ask you this my dear, but could you please tell us what happened to you." Hermione looked pained but answered quickly, "I wonder if I could give you my memory of the event instead Professor, it will be more accurate than my retelling and you could all look at it in your pensieve." She gave him a hopeful smile and he nodded, "of course Miss Granger." She pulled out her wand and placed it to her head, pulling out the memory and placing it in a vial, before giving it to Dumbledore. The Order followed him out to watch the memory, each wishing her a speedy recovery and promising to visit, Tonks, Remus, Sirius and Kingsley all hugged her on their way out.

Snape was the last to leave and he stopped by her bed and withdrew a small bottle from his pocket, "bruise salve," he told her and she smiled, "thanks Sev," using the nickname she had given him in their potion sessions. He scowled slightly, but she could see the smile there and heard the sincerity when he spoke, "I'm glad you're alright Hermione." He swept out, robes billowing behind him and she grinned, no matter how nice he would be to her, he would still insist on those billowing robes to make him look like the bat of the dungeon.

* * *

The adults all headed to Dumbledore's office and he tipped Hermione's memory into his pensieve. Taking deep breaths they all headed into her memory and for half an hour Dumbledore's office was devoid of sound as they all walked through Hermione's memory of her first meeting with Voldemort.

When they all resurfaced their expressions were filled with disgust and loathing for the wizard who called himself Voldemort. They were also concerned for Hermione and knew that this meant her protection would have to be increased even further. She would only be able to leave the castle when it was truly necessary and that would have to be in the company of a lot of protection.

No one liked what Voldemort had mentioned about Hermione joining his side, nor the way he had spoken and looked at her during their confrontation. However, no one wanted to worry Hermione more so they resolved that it would be best to just increase security and ensure Hermione remained safe.

"What shall we do now then Albus?" asked Professor McGonagall, her lips tight and a frown on her face. Dumbledore tugged his long beard thoughtfully, "I think it is best if Sirius, Remus and Tonks go and fetch Harry, Ronald and Ginevra and let them know what has happened, perhaps you ought to tell Fred, George, Luna and Neville too. Then you can all go and visit Miss Granger in the hospital wing. Kingsley, if you wouldn't mind then could you find Bill and let him know what has happened." Kingsley nodded and set off after Sirius, Remus and Tonks.

Dumbledore then turned to Snape, "Severus, I know you have potions to work on, but if you see Mr Malfoy or Mr Zabini then mention what has happened in case they wish to visit. Minerva and I shall remain here, we have some business to discuss about the school." Snape nodded and swept out of the room, as Dumbledore and McGonagall settled down into two armchairs to talk.

* * *

Hermione had remained alone in the hospital wing for almost an hour after the adults left to view her memories. Then Sirius, Remus and Tonks had turned up with Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Luna and Neville in tow and everything got a lot louder. They spent the first twenty minutes they were there ranting about Voldemort and calling him names that Mrs Weasley would have killed them for if she'd heard them.

After Hermione had finally managed to get through to them the fact that she'd rather forget the whole encounter, they moved on to lighter topics, though they all shot dark looks at her bruised wrists and cheek every now and again. The chatter died down a little when Draco and Blaise actually came to visit, but they left almost as soon as they relayed their hope that she'd be better soon - she does think they're improving on the whole 'be nicer' stance - and after they'd gone the conversation continued like they'd never been there.

Seven hours after she had returned unconscious with Remus from the old Riddle house, Bill walked into the infirmary with Kingsley. All her friends stood back to allow him to hurry over to her side and lean down to kiss her quickly. "I was so worried when Kingsley told me Mione, I would have been here sooner but I had work and it would have been suspicious to leave early without any prior agreement - got to keep the Order secret after all."

Hermione nodded, "of course Bill, I understand completely. Anyway, I'm just fine, a few bruises and a little shock, they're all just overreacting," she told him, ignoring many of her friends shaking their heads in exasperation. Bill gave her a smile and kissed her again. That was when Kingsley tactfully ushered the others out, "come on you lot, I'm sure the excitement can be worn off in some training, we'll let Bill take Mione back to Gryffindor tower." They agreed and soon Hermione and Bill were the only ones remaining in the room.

Their walk up to Gryffindor tower was surprisingly quiet, Bill made enquiries about her health, fussed a little and then remained silent. They found the common room suspiciously absent and Hermione had a feeling that they knew she needed a little conversation with Bill after what happened. They both sat down on a sofa near the fire and then Bill spoke.

"I'm worried Hermione, what happened today showed me just how much danger you're really in and I don't want you to get hurt." Hermione took in his face, wrinkled in concern, and sighed a little, she'd known this conversation would come up at some point, though she'd rather it wasn't so soon.

"I know you're worried Bill," she said softly, grasping his hand and squeezing it gently, "to be honest I am too, but I have these powers and will use them to the best of my ability to help Harry defeat Voldemort once and for all. We've all come too far to give up now, you know that."

Bill nodded, "yes Mione, I understand but I don't think it will ever stop me worrying, you were a huge target already and this 'heir of the founders' business doesn't help one bit." She chuckled a little and he beamed. That made her pleased, at times it was hard just to laugh when the war became so very real for them. "I confess that it was difficult to meet Voldemort in the flesh, "she told him, "he is just as unpleasant as expected," she said with distaste and she saw the twitch of Bill's mouth into a smile, glad that he had lightened up a bit."

"Just know that you can talk to me if anything bothers you Mione, or if it all gets a little overwhelming and you just want to talk about nonsense for a while," he said, face now serious, "I'll always be here for you, like I know you would be for me." She felt her eyes water at that and shifted closer to Bill, snuggling under his arm as he kissed the top of her head affectionately.

"Now, why don't you tell me some more about these cool powers of yours and how your lessons are going," he asked her. Hermione smiled and began to talk, "really," she thought happily, "the mission may not have gone too well but the end of the day was turning out rather well."

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the previous chapter, it was very much appreciated; Readerforlife, Elfsquire90 and Angel JJK.**

**I'm so glad that I managed to get this chapter out in three days and it's a bit longer than normal. However, I haven't started the next chapter and so it may take a little longer, perhaps up to a week.**

**I have just found an amazing story which I'm sure practically anyone who likes Hermione would love. I have yet to finish it, since it is rather long, but I hope to do so soon. If you wish to take a look at it, which I highly recommend, then it is called 'The Problem with Purity' by . **


	31. Interlude: Remus

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter. **

* * *

**Interlude: Remus**

Remus was never sure which day he would count as his worst ever, but it was probably a toss up between his first werewolf transformation, the day James and Lily died and the day Sirius went through the veil. All three days were filled with pain, darkness and terror. Somehow, though they were in the middle of a war right now, the days seemed lighter and happier most of the time.

He guessed this was due to a number of things, being married to Tonks and expecting a baby that Madame Pomfrey had assured them would have no trace of lycanthropy was one. Then there was the fact that Sirius had managed to return from the veil, giving him his best friend back and ensuring he was not the sole remaining marauder (Peter didn't count). The final reason was probably being surrounded by the Order all the time, people who loved him and didn't judge him by his werewolf status.

However, with the day he'd just had, he'd been reminded of just how scary the war could be. It had been the closest that he'd ever got to Voldemort and though he'd only caught a glimpse of the wizard, that had been scary enough. He couldn't imagine how scary it must have been for Hermione, then again from her memory of the event she'd been just as spirited as normal.

Still, it had been a wake up call for the entire Order, they now knew how easily Voldemort could get to Hermione and knew that her trips out of the castle would have to carefully monitored and chaperoned in future, until the threat of Voldemort was gone.

The day had started out normally, promising to be a rather quiet morning going through papers and books at Riddle Manor with both he and Hermione probably ending up delayed reading some interesting, but irrelevant book. That was just the sort of people they were. Instead they'd found nothing useful and poor Mione had been forced into an unpleasant encounter with Voldemort.

Remus watched out for all the teenagers, but Harry and Hermione most of all, the former because he was James' son and the latter because she had not only kept his secret but also a mutual love of learning connected them. He had been incredibly worried when he had been unable to protect Hermione from having to meet Voldemort, angry at himself for letting it happen, though he knew deep down there was little he could have done about it.

Having to watch Hermione's ordeal through a pensive had been even harder and when they had re-entered Dumbledore's office it had been with great reluctance that Remus had grabbed on to Sirius to stop him rampaging. He'd hurried with both Dora and Sirius to the Hospital Wing, taking a quick detour on the way to collect Harry, the four youngest Weasleys, Neville and Luna.

Luckily, Hermione had appeared to be fine, apart from the bruises. She spoke animatedly to them, though every once in a while she would go quiet and he'd catch something a little scared in her eyes - the confrontation with Voldemort had left its mental mark on her. He glanced round the room and saw that, while the teenagers had missed it, both Dora and Sirius had caught Hermione's looks as well and he knew they would help watch out for the girl.

Things had gotten a little tense when Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini showed up, but they were polite, enquiring after Hermione's well being, then left soon after. Remus could tell that Draco was improving, learning to cease constant insults and try to get along with those he once hated. As for Blaise, from what Hermione had told him the boy had never really said anything to anyone but Draco and he seemed to have no problem with blood, though he was from an influential pureblood family. Remus saw no real harm in either of the boys and from how Hermione acted, neither did she.

When Bill arrived Remus knew that they would all be leaving soon enough. Hermione quickly gained permission to leave the hospital wing, while Kingsley ushered them all out to give the young couple some privacy. Remus searched quickly for Dora and the pair of them were soon heading towards their chambers.

* * *

Remus lay in bed next to his sleeping wife and placed both hands gently on the bump of her stomach. He could still scarcely believe that he would be a father in six months time. He'd always been of the belief that if he ever married, something he believed would never happen due to his lycanthropy, that he would never bring a baby into the world with them because it would be too dangerous. However, when Dora realised she was pregnant, a huge surprise for both of them, he went straight to Poppy, who informed him that lycanthropy couldn't be passed on through genetics and that his son or daughter would be just fine.

Dora had been discussing names, colour schemes and all things baby-like with the females in the castle ever since she'd found out and Remus had been amused to see his wife act so much differently to the excitable auror always so focused on chasing the bad guys. While it didn't seem like it to those who didn't know her too well, Remus knew Dora would be a fantastic mother.

Remus wasn't too bothered about names yet, he didn't even mind if they had a boy or a girl, he just wanted their child to be healthy. This baby had given him hope for the future, a tangible thing that showed there could be light at the end of the dark tunnel of war. He was determined to help end the war as soon as possible, he would rather his child not have to live in a warring world.

He beamed to himself as he felt the baby shift in Dora's stomach, he found anything and everything about their child fascinating no matter how big or small. He smiled once more before switching off his bedside lamp and settling down to a sleep full of dreams of a happy family in a war-free magical world.

* * *

Albus had let Hermione know that she could be excused from the days classes due to the incident with Voldemort the day before. She hadn't surprised anyone when she'd refused, not wanting to miss anything and insistent that if left to her own devices she would just end up replaying the meeting with Voldemort in her head. No one had wanted that, which was the only reason her decision not to sit out was accepted.

They hadn't wanted to alarm any of the teens, so when an Order meeting was called, the only one of them present was Hermione, who spent the entire meeting rather tense and gripping onto Bill's hand tightly. They'd known that in reality, a meeting between Hermione and Voldemort, before the battle, was likely, but that didn't mean they liked it. The words Voldemort had whispered to Hermione troubled them all more than they'd care to admit - Voldemort seemed very intent on having Hermione join his side, whether she wanted it or not. Luckily, from what He had said they still had time.

The battle was coming soon, almost certainly less than a year away and so all they had to do was keep Hermione far away from Voldemort and any of his cronies until then. The girl in question remained rather silent throughout the entire discussion until Dumbledore asked her to give an opinion. "I trust you all to keep me safe, it is scary of course, but the war will end at some point, it has to. When it does I will be right there to help ensure Voldemort never has the chance to destroy any more lives. Until then I will remain as I always have, working towards Voldemort's destruction and the safety of the wizarding world."

They all had to admire her for that little speech, then again she was always the mature one. More discussions were made and Hermione was made aware of yet more safety arrangements, she would be permitted onto the castle grounds with at least one person with her and that went for inside the castle as well. She would only leave the safety of Hogwarts on rare occasions and when she did so, there was to be at least four Order members present. She hadn't been too pleased with that, citing a waste of manpower, but they would not budge - Voldemort could not get his hands on Hermione or the entire tide of the war could turn.

Once the meeting was over, Remus had chance to speak to Hermione quickly - checking she was ok - before Bill whisked her away to spend a relaxing evening by the fire in Gryffindor Tower common room. He spoke a few words to Severus, who assured him that Hermione was progressing well with the wolfsbane and that it would be ready for him on time in three days.

He left Dumbledore's office with Dora, grinning as she happily chattered on about the baby. He would spend the night with his wife, giving himself time to forget what had happened in the last two days and let him focus on happier things for once, after all, what was life without love?

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the previous chapter, it was very much appreciated; Angel JJK, Elfsquire90, Readerforlife and . Also to vanillabean18 for the new review on chapter 3. **

**Sorry that this chapter is a bit shorter than normal, but I just lost my muse for this chapter. I am surprised I got this chapter done in 3 days though. The next chapter is, like this one, not begun yet, so it may take longer than three days or I may get it done in time. The only information I will give away about the next chapter is that it is titled 'Legilimency' and will feature mostly Hermione and Snape.**


	32. Legilimency

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

**Legilimency **

"Five minutes left Hermione," Snape told her quietly, "and remember not to …" "Not to let the stirring stick touch the cauldron, yes I know Severus," Hermione said in an exasperated tone. The dark haired man scowled at her, "don't take that tone with me Hermione, this is an important potion and it needs precision." She rolled her eyes, "yes I know that Severus, but I have made it dozens of times before and if anything is likely to distract me then its you breathing down my neck so back off."

Another five minutes passed, with the only sound being the hissing of the potion and flicking of pages, before Hermione bottled a pale blue potion, turned off the flame under her cauldron and handed the vial to Snape. While he scrutinised her work she cleared up and packed her bag before coming to stand in front of the desk.

"The potion is more than adequate," he said and she knew this was normally as close as he got to praise, "but I have one more thing to discuss with you before you leave." She nodded, dropping her bag to the floor and leaning against the desk behind her. "As I have told you, the progress you have made in occlumency is rather astounding and all that is really left is for you to continue practicing regularly to keep your shields strong. I will test you sporadically to make sure you aren't neglecting the mental exercises, but unlike some people, I'm sure you will endeavour to do your best." She nodded once more, resisting the urge to glare at him for the insinuation of Harry's hopelessness at occlumency, though she knew he had never been too great.

"From now on though, the lessons we spent on occlumency will be spent mostly on teaching you the art of Legilimency. I would like you to read these," he handed her three rather thick books, "by our next lesson. I will know if you skip over anything and I will be displeased if that is the case. Am I understood?"

Hermione swept the books into her bag, ever thankful for the charm she had on it keeping it feather light, "perfectly understood Severus." He merely waved his hand, signalling that she could leave, before turning back to a potions text he was engrossed in.

She left the room and almost barrelled straight into Tonks, who smiled brightly at her, "hi Mione, what have you been doing down here?" Hermione looked suspiciously at the metamorphagus, "you know exactly what I've been doing Tonks, the better question is what are you doing here, you're almost never in the dungeons?"

Tonks stuttered and grinned guiltily, giving Hermione her answer, "I knew it, this is part of the 'let's drive Hermione crazy by following her everywhere and saying its for her own safety' campaign isn't it. I don't need a bloody bodyguard twenty-four hours a day, at least not in Hogwarts for a short walk from the dungeons to the Great Hall in broad daylight."

Tonks shrugged, "sorry Mione, but I follow orders from above and I know it must be annoying for you, but Moody would have my head if I left you alone when I was supposed to be keeping an eye on you - constant vigilance and all that." Hermione just sighed, "fine, I'll accept this, but I don't like it. Tonks just smiled, "I never expected you to like it, now come on, it's lunch and we don't want to be late," she said, dragging Hermione towards the Great Hall and the aroma of food.

* * *

Sirius offered to escort her down to the dungeons and she agreed, though with a little hesitation, she didn't want him to start an argument with Snape, but she needed someone to go with her and everyone else had been busy. Luckily he seemed to be behaving and she only had to smack him once after a joking comment about finding out all Snape's secrets.

When she entered the dungeons his goodbye was spoken loudly, probably so Snape would hear it, proclaiming that the 'slimy git' better not let her get hurt. She rolled her eyes, kissed his cheek and practically pushed him back up the stairs before entering Snape's quarters for her lesson.

The potions master looked up at her with a raised eyebrow as she entered, "I take it Black escorted you down then?" She nodded, "I didn't think it was too great an idea but there was no one else available and I made sure he behaved … mostly." Snape gave a wry chuckle and gestured to the seat in front of him, "I assume that you read all the texts I gave you Hermione?"

She laughed and nodded, "yeah, though I did get Harry and Ron asking me what on earth I was doing over the weekend, they seem to have a large aversion to reading." Snape sneered, "I don't know how those two miscreants ever managed to pass their OWLs but I suspect it had rather a lot to do with you." Hermione just laughed and shrugged her shoulders, knowing that he was probably mostly right.

"Right," said Snape brusquely, "what is Legilimency?" Hermione through her mind back to the first of the books Snape had given her, " Legilimency is the act of magically navigating through the many layers of a person's mind and correctly interpreting one's findings." He nodded, "correct, the most skilled legilimens can perform legilimency non-verbally and without a wand, but you will begin with both a wand and the incantation of 'legilimens' before we gradually take first the incantation and then the wand away."

She nodded eagerly and ignored the slight eye roll Snape employed in jest at her enthusiasm. "I am going to place a simple memory at the forefront of my mind and block off the rest," he told her. "I want you to focus and concentrate on getting into my head, once there I want you to find the memory. I'm sure I need not remind you to not attempt to go any further."

Once she had assured him of her compliance with the rules he had set, she lifted her wand and concentrated her focus on entering Snape's head, "legilimens." Suddenly she saw colours swirling in front of her, slowly forming to make what looked to be a picture. But before the image could be completed, she felt pain building up in her head and she was pulled back to Snape's quarters, shaky on her feet and just able to prevent herself from falling over.

He came over to her and pressed a pale hand against her forehead quickly, "I think you'll be ok," he told her, "it was probably just a little overwhelming for you since it's the first time you've tried." He passed her some Honeydukes chocolate and she took it gratefully, biting into it with a moan of happiness, "finish that and then we'll try again," said Snape.

She munched on the chocolate quickly, before taking her original position and casting 'legilimens' once more. The swirls of colour appeared once more, but they managed to differentiate into a full image soon and then the memory began to play as she found herself watching Snape's memory of the Malfoys and Zabinis plea for sanctuary.

_Snape stood next to Dumbledore, who was seated at the desk in his office, watching Narcissa and Draco Malfoy, along with Blaise and Maria Zabini, with unreadable black eyes. Dumbledore spoke first, "I take it you wish to change sides then." The four in front of him nodded and Narcissa spoke quietly, "neither Maria or I have ever supported the Dark Lord and with Celso Zabini's death and Lucius' descent into darkness, neither of us feel safe where we are. Draco and Blaise have always pretended to follow the Dark Lord and while I admit that Draco at least may still have some belief of pureblood supremacy, neither follows the Dark Lord and we would like to plead asylum."_

_Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully and turned to Snape, "what is your take on this Severus, do you believe them to be sincere?" Snape's dark eyes flitted across each of the four and then he spoke, "Narcissa and Maria are very sincere I am sure headmaster, Blaise has never been involved in taunting other students so I doubt there will be a problem there. Draco, while he has made many mistakes, is generally not one to go into anything without thinking first and so I believe he is also sincere, though he will have to work on his attitude and behaviour if he remains."_

_Dumbledore turned his bright blue eyes on their guests, "I believe that you will be able to stay, though I will have to ask you to sit through an Order meeting first to ensure there aren't any pressing objections." He held a hand up as Draco made to protest, "it will be take into account that Mr Potter and Mr Weasley may be a little bias against you, Miss Granger will no doubt have more sense." The terms were agreed with and Dumbledore turned to Snape, "if you could escort Mrs Malfoy, Draco, Mrs Zabini and Blaise to the guest quarters Severus." Snape nodded and led the four out of the room and down the maze of corridors. _

Hermione slowly faded out of the memory and back into reality, clutching her head and swaying side to side, "whoa, head rush." Snape shot out a hand to steady her and she smiled gratefully, "thanks Sev, that was some experience." Snape nodded, "I'm impressed, not many of those who attempt legilimency manage on their second attempt. Have some more chocolate and then we'll try again if you want."

Hermione grinned, "if I'm going to get chocolate every time then we can try how ever many times you want."

* * *

When Hermione left her lesson two hours later she had drunk a rather large amount of headache potion and consumed more chocolate than she cared to think of. She'd also managed to get to the stage of passing by a few weak mental blocks in Severus' head and he was delighted with her progress, though of course he showed it only through vague, hidden compliments.

Harry, Ron and Ginny, who had all come down to collect her and question her on the content of her lesson, were fascinated by the process and envious of all the chocolate she had received. The former two had made one request for any embarrassing memory of Snape's, but one sharp look from Hermione and they shut up. The rest of the walk to the common room was made in peace.

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**Thanks to vanillabean18, for the review of the last chapter, it was very much appreciated.**

**Information on Legilimency is found at Harry Potter Wiki. I'm not quite sure what the incantation is so I just used 'legilimens'.**

**Next chapter - an interlude from Ginny's POV - get the scoop on just how Ginny feels about the war, her family, her relationship with 'the Boy Who Lived' and Hermione's new powers.**


	33. Interlude: Ginny

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

**Just so you all know, the sections of this chapter are separated by lines, the first part is just an introduction to Ginny and every section after is some event. There are days apart each one so that's why it might seem like its jumping a bit.**

* * *

**Interlude: Ginny**

Ginevra Molly Weasley, aka Ginny, was one tough cookie. Being the only girl with six brothers she learnt quickly how to defend herself, how to fight and how to make her opinion known - loudly. At only 11 years old she had survived possession by Tom Riddle for almost a year and escaped relatively unscathed. She had joined Dumbledore's army aged 14 and managed to produce a corporeal patronus, before going on to fight death eaters at the Ministry of Magic and escape unscathed. She'd duelled death eaters again aged 15 in the attack on Hogwarts in which her brother Bill had been scarred by Greyback.

Yet despite this, it had taken her five years to get Harry Potter to notice her and for them to finally begin dating. Now that she had that she was incessantly happy, despite the war that loomed overhead. Harry was everything she'd ever wanted in a guy and more - kind, loving, modest, funny and handsome.

She knew that it didn't matter that she was only sixteen years old, she was in love with Harry and he was 'The One' for her. Everyone in the Order seemed to approve, even Malfoy had mentioned they were good together. What warmed her heart most was what Sirius and Remus had said, that the two of them reminded the marauders of James and Lily - to Ginny that was one of the greatest compliments their relationship could have been given, James and Lily had been madly in love and made for each other.

Their relationship was one of the few lights in the darkness the war was bringing - too many deaths, too much pain and the burden of destroying Voldemort placed on the shoulders of two teenagers. Her boyfriend and her best female friend, she didn't know what she do if either were to die, if anyone in the Order died, she was close to all of them.

She tried to dwell on the war as little as was possible with missions, casualties and training going on - it was best when they were all together, just doing normal things like playing quidditch or chatting. But with everything that had been happening in the last few months, including them all being scared out of their wits by Hermione's meeting with Voldemort, she found those normal moments were far and few between.

The incident in the Riddle house with Hermione and Voldemort had dredged up memories of her possession by his younger self - Tom. She had been so worried and scared, though she hadn't known exactly what she had been doing she had known it was wrong. Luckily there hadn't been any repeat of the nightmares that had haunted her regularly over a year after she had been saved from the Chamber of Secrets by Harry - she didn't know whether she'd have been able to handle their return.

* * *

It was clear, bright day when Ron suggested a game of quidditch to ease the boredom that had set in during the afternoon. The only adults available were Bill, who was spending the day with Hermione (she wouldn't consider playing quidditch if you paid her) and Kingsley, who agreed to even up their teams. They decided to forgo the beaters and have a keeper, seeker and two chasers on each team. The first team was Harry as seeker, Ron as keeper and Ginny and Fred as chasers. The second team had Draco as seeker, Kingsley as keeper and Blaise and George as chasers.

They passed Bill and Hermione on their way to the quidditch pitch, the pair sitting together on a blanket by the lake, with a basket of food next to them. Ginny smiled at the picture they made, laughing and chatting together, one of them occasionally moving over to kiss the other gently - a true romance. Ron had begun to head over towards them, wanting to speak to them about some inane topic no doubt, but Ginny grabbed her brother by the collar and dragged him towards the pitch, "honestly Ron, they want some alone time, not having to listen to you rattle on."

The game went on for a good three hours and they only ended it because it began to get dark and the Order had rules about them all being out late - you never knew who could get onto the grounds. Ginny was grinning with Harry, Ron and Fred as they headed back to the castle - their team had won the game, though with Harry as their seeker that did seem inevitable. Malfoy sulked, George shrugged, Kingsley congratulated the winning team gracefully and Blaise, as usual, just stood there looking broody.

* * *

Ginny was so excited, she had been told that she would finally be able to go on a mission. Of course, she would have a fair amount of supervision, Charlie and Mad-Eye would be shadowing them, remaining invisible unless help was needed and she would be accompanied by Tonks, whose hair was long and red - she was playing Ginny's sister.

It wasn't overly dangerous, just a trip to a magical library to see if they could find any references to horcruxes. It would have been an assignment Hermione would normally have taken, but with her number one position on Voldemort's 'to capture' list and the fact that the polyjuice potion stores were almost depleted, with the new batch only half done, it had been given to Ginny.

They arrived at the library with no problems except for the regular occurrence of Tonks tripping over her feet a few times. They'd spent the journey in conversation about Tonks' pregnancy, what gender she hoped for and any ideas for baby names - a nice normal conversation to cover up any suspicious activity.

They browsed the books, placing a 'notice me not' charm on each other for precaution, slowly working their way towards the darker texts. There was a magical way to search for a term within a book but it was all tracked and they dared not try it, for fear of alerting Voldemort to their knowledge of his secret.

They casually browsed books on the dark arts, sighing as they found nothing in the first few hours. However, they had a breakthrough about three and a half hours after they entered the library. Ginny gave a tiny squeal of excitement when she spotted the word in a book on dark concepts, but quickly clapped a hand over her mouth before she had time to catch anyone's attention.

Gesturing to Tonks, the older woman came hurrying over and smiled widely when she saw what the girl had found, " well done Ginny." The book had a whole passage on horcruxes and Ginny found herself disgusted by what she saw, though she knew about horcruxes, the book's detail wasn't pleasant. They magically copied the page and Tonks slipped it inside her robes. They were out of the library and back at Hogwarts ten minutes later.

Dumbledore smiled as they passed him the parchment when they entered his office. "Thank you Miss Weasley, Tonks, this information will be very useful in discerning the final unknown horcrux and will aid in its destruction. Now, I know the two of you have had a tiring, rather tedious day, so off you go and have some fun. Good evening."

* * *

"What do you think about all this Gin?"

Ginny turned towards Hermione with a puzzled look on her face, "think about what Mione?" Hermione sighed, "my heritage, my powers, the possibility of me having to defeat Voldemort." Ginny pursed her lips thoughtfully, "well in relation to the powers, I think that if Voldemort wasn't around they would be pretty cool and so much fun to learn. Since we are at war, they're still cool, but they're useful - they could save you life, save countless lives really."

Hermione sighed, "yes, I know they're amazing and I really love being able to develop such rare skills. It's just the reason they developed, I don't know whether I have the strength to do what is required of me as 'heir to the four founders'. Ginny smiled at her friend, "Mione, if anyone deserves these powers then its you, if anyone can control them then it is you. Don't worry about what has yet to come, you might as well live for the moment whenever you can, keep fighting the war and we'll see how it comes out - we'll come out on top, of that I'm sure."

Her companion grinned, "whenever did you get so wise Gin?" she asked quietly. Ginny shrugged, "with six older brothers I had to grow up quickly, the whole incident with Tom and the diary didn't help either. But the war has changed us all Hermione, made is mature fast and see what's really important to us - family, friends, love."

Hermione nodded, "but what if I'm supposed to kill Voldemort, or if it needs both Harry and I. He's such a powerful dark wizard and Ginny … I'm scared." Ginny came over to sit next to her friend, pulling her into a tight hug, "you, Hermione, are better than Voldemort and no matter who has to destroy the bastard, you will get through it intact and strong, as you've done with every challenge in your life."

Hermione smiled through tear filled eyes, though the cause of her tears was happiness for once. "You are such a great friend Gin, I love you." Ginny smirked, "well of course you do Mione," she said flippantly, "who doesn't."

The atmosphere in the Common Room improved dramatically as the laughter of the two girls rang through the room.

* * *

Sometimes Hermione wanted to kill every member of her family, other times she just wanted to hug them forever. She supposed it was like that with family though, couldn't have the good without the bad after all. However, at the moment she was leaning towards the former action - her family were all being complete nightmares at the moment.

Her mother was fussing about something or other, she didn't particularly care about the details, but she was going on and on and it was just so damn annoying. Then her dad was tinkering with some muggle object or other again, dirty pieces all over the table and no where to do her transfiguration assignment. Bill was in a mood because he hadn't seen Hermione all day and Charlie was off Merlin knows where.

Grumbling under her breath, she grabbed her books and headed off to the common room, hoping she could find some peace and quiet there. But when she reached the portrait of the fat lady, she found Sirius at the door, "oh hello Ginny, I wouldn't go in there if I were you, Fred and George have been 'experimenting' and both the noise and smell are almost unbearable." He chuckled deeply, "those two are brilliant, I think Moony and I might have to induct them as honorary marauders."

Ginny swore under her breath, yes Fred and George were talented, but they could have picked a better time to take up the entire Gryffindor tower, she had an essay to do and Professor McGonagall would have her head if she didn't hand it in on time. It didn't matter that they weren't technically at school, the woman was still just as hard on them, work wise. She couldn't find peace in the Room of Requirement, Harry, Ron and Hermione were training there. She thought briefly of the library, until she remembered that Dumbledore, Remus and Kingsley were researching there and that there would probably be no available surface - they went all out when they were in research mode.

All she wanted was some quiet and in the end she found herself under the large oak tree by the lake, grateful that it wasn't raining. She managed to finish her essay and by the time she was done, she had calmed down considerably. "Really," she thought to herself as she made her way back to her family, "they're an annoying bunch of imbeciles some of the time, but they are my family and I wouldn't trade them for the world."

Love - that was why Voldemort would never win.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the previous chapter, it was very much appreciated; vanillabean18, Readerforlife and sunshine21409.**

**The next chapter details the romantic picnic Hermione and Bill were on when the others went to play quidditch, lots of fluff to look forward to.**


	34. A Romantic Picnic

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter and all the fluff.**

* * *

**A Romantic Picnic **

"I've got a surprise for you."

Hermione turned her head round and grinned when she saw her boyfriend there, "Bill, I thought you had to work today," she said, jumping up to hug him. He shrugged, leaning down to kiss her, "turns out they didn't need me there so I organised something for us to do, I know you don't have lessons or training today and I don't want you working so hard like you normally do."

Hermione frowned, "there's lots to do to prepare to destroy Voldemort and I don't work that hard Bill." He laughed, "really, so why is it that Charlie found you at a table in the library a few days ago, having fallen asleep after researching for seven solid hours with only a sandwich and one bathroom break?"

She flushed red for a moment, "ok so maybe I go a little over the top occasionally. I promise I won't open a book today, honest." Bill tilted her head back to kiss her again, "I know you won't Mione, because I'm going to be there occupying your time all day."

"So what will we be doing on this work-free day then," she asked, eager to get some more alone time with Bill, it had been so limited recently. He leant down to lift a basket she hadn't noticed from the floor, "it's a beautiful day outside and we are going on a nice, quiet, romantic picnic for two."

Hermione squealed, rather unusual for her but she was allowed to act like a girl sometimes, "aww Bill that is so sweet, are we going now?" He nodded indulgently at her, "sure we can go now, we won't get bothered since most of the Order are working and the rest of the castle occupants are playing quidditch - or at least they will be once Ginny finds them."

Hermione laughed, he was probably right, Ginny could be very persuasive when she wanted to be and she wasn't above using threats to coerce people into doing things her way. Bill grinned, "yes, my sister has spent way too much time around Fred and George, I only managed to get out of it because I told about the picnic and she's a romantic at heart."

* * *

They set out their blanket next to a large oak tree by the lake, loving the sun but glad of some shade if they got too warm. Hermione lay back, enjoying the warmth on her face and the beautiful view of Hogwarts, "sometimes I wonder how I'll ever leave this place," she said, "I loved my life before I was a witch, but I didn't belong like I did here and I've met my greatest friends in this place or through people from this place."

Bill tilted his head to the side, "I guess it was different for you and me, I'd always been immersed in a magical family and while Hogwarts was great, I knew that when I came home I'd still be around magic. What was it like, learning you were a witch?"

"It was a huge shock at first," she told him, "my parents are … were, dentists and very scientific so they were rather sceptical to start with. I was delighted really, I'd always thought I was different and there was the proof of it, I had no real friends that I'd leave behind and the visit from Professor McGonagall excited me even more."

She sighed, "I miss those early Hogwarts days, sure we had a few incidents … a troll in the bathroom, the search for the philosopher's stone, the chamber of secrets, werewolves and murderers. But it never got too bad, Voldemort was always defeated and no one died. Then came that stupid Triwizard tournament and it all culminates in Cedric Diggory dying and Voldemort returning, with no one believing it. Things were so much simpler before then."

Bill leaned over to pull her close to him, "don't worry Mione, we'll get those days back eventually, the war will end soon and we'll have forever to live the simple life devoid of constant war." She kissed him with a smile, "and that's why I love you Bill, always the optimist and always able to make me feel better." He grinned at her, "I live to serve Mione, now, are you hungry?"

"Sure, what have you got in the basket," she asked, "leaning over to look into the crack in the wicker basket. He gently slaps her hand away, "hey no peeking Mione, some of this stuff is a surprise." He pulled out two long baguettes and handed one to her, "I got your favourite." She took a bite and savoured the taste, "mmm, bacon, chicken and cheese - such a delicious combination."

They ate in peaceful quiet, broken only by the occasional comment or kiss, making their way through almost the entire picnic basket. Hermione pouted playfully when they were done, "what, no dessert?" Bill grinned at her, "of course we have dessert Mione, what sort of wizard do you take me for? Anyway, I know you'd probably curse me if I forgot it."

"Close your eyes," he told her and while she had no idea what he was about to do, she closed her eyes because she trusted him. A few seconds later and she was overwhelmed by the delectable scent she loved, "can you guess what it is Mione," asked Bill playfully, knowing that she would know the smell miles away. She inhaled deeply before speaking, "that Bill, is the marvellous smell of the best chocolate raspberry torte ever, courtesy of the extremely talented Hogwarts house elves."

He beamed as she opened her eyes and saw the dessert. Knowing that she'd probably make a grab for it soon he produced a fork and broke a piece off. He lifted it gently and hovered the piece just in front of her mouth, she leant forward and ate it, bliss covering her face as she swallowed her favourite dessert. Bill leaned back, cutting his own slice of the torte, before handing the plate to Hermione, who looked ready to kill if she didn't get more.

"Thank you for my favourite dessert Bill," she tells him after demolishing a whole half of the rather large torte. She fleetingly thinks of the calories, but being in the Order and training practically every day means she won't have to worry about a few slices of torte. He just smiles at her, the special smile he gives just to her and she thinks her heart might explode out of her chest - just because of a few actions, that's how special he is.

* * *

"What's your favourite colour?" he asked randomly as they're sitting in each others arms, watching in amusement as the Giant Squid basks in the shallow water. "Truthfully, it's lilac," she told him, "but don't let Ron know, he's so caught up with House prejudices and still thinks my two favourites are red and gold - to be honest I'm rather partial to green as well, but Ron would probably kill me if I said that, Draco and Blaise would just laugh."

Bill shook his head, "Ron always was a little too big on House divisions. Now what about your favourite holiday?" Hermione gave a dreamy look, "when my parents took me on vacation to France just before third year, I'd always loved studying French and the atmosphere, culture, everything, was just amazing." She paused, "now what is it with all the questions?"

He shrugged, "I know a lot about you Mione and you know a lot about me, but I want to know all the small stuff, the quirks. Feel free to ask me questions if you want." She studied him for a moment before speaking, "I promise I won't reveal it, but who is your favourite sibling?"

Bill tilted his head thoughtfully, "I love them all deep down, even that moron Percy, but my favourite would probably have to be Charlie or Ginny. Ron's a little too immature at times, Percy is a pretentious snob a lot and both Fred and George have too much prankster in them, though I love them for it. Charlie is closest to me in age, been there all but two of my Hogwarts years and has always been the one I could talk to. Then Ginny's the only girl, so I feel protective, but I've always loved her because she can take care of herself and put everyone in their place."

"Yes, she definitely does that, it's one of the many things that makes her perfect for Harry. Now I have one more question for you." She leant over to whisper something in his ear … "bloody hell Mione, I'm not telling you that." She gave him her best puppy dog look, "why ever not Bill … anyway, I'll use one of my favourite charms on you if you don't, we're supposed to be being honest … it's the charm that shaves all your hair off."

Bill looked scandalised, "you wouldn't dare Mione." She just shrugged casually and he knew she was deadly serious. He stood up quickly, sprinting off into the distance and shouting back at her, "you'll have to catch me before I tell you the answer Mione and I'm good at hiding." She just smiled as she stood to chase after him, he might be good but he seemed to have forgotten that she'd been trained by both himself and Remus in tracking - she was just as good. "Let the game begin," she whispered playfully, before running off after him.

* * *

Half an hour later and they were both flopped on the blanket, breathing heavily, absolutely exhausted from their chase. Hermione had managed to catch up to Bill, who had reluctantly answered her question (which I will let you imagine lol) with a blush that matched his hair.

"This day has been so fantastic Bill, it's made me love you even more and I want to do something." He sat up as she did, looking at her with an expression filled with curiosity. She lifted up her wrist, where he saw the charm bracelet her parents had given her - she'd told him about the significance of each charm and he'd thought it beautiful. So when she separated the little silver heart, he knew exactly what she was going to do and he was incredibly moved.

"I know that you understand what this means Bill," she said, pulling out her wand, "you are the person I see myself spending the rest of my life with and I love you. That's why I want to put your initials with mine on this heart, to show you that my heart belongs to you, hopefully you could say the same of me," she told him, as her wand gently carved _H.G _and below it, _B.W_ on the charm. She placed it back in its place on her bracelet and when she looked up she saw tears in Bill's eyes, "my heart definitely belongs to you Mione and that is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever done for me. I love you."

As they sat under the tree kissing, Hermione felt contentment and happiness flow through her - who cared about the war at the moment, she was in heaven with Bill.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the previous chapter, it was very much appreciated; Readerforlife, Vanillabean18 and Cristal90. **

**If you've forgotten, Hermione's bracelet is mentioned in chapter 13, 'A Day Off' and the chapter details the meaning behind each charm. Her parents told her to carve the initials of her love onto the silver heart.**

**On Wednesday I will release two chapters one after the other for two reasons; one, they follow each other and I'm not cruel enough to leave a cliff-hanger and two, I have a very important exam soon and so I'll be revising a lot and will be behind on my writing so there probably won't be any chapter after Wednesday till for about a week.**


	35. A Sirius Conversation & The Whole Truth

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Just remember that whatever happens, this is a Hermione/Bill story. As explained at the end of last chapter, this chapter has been uploaded with the next right after it so when you're done with this chapter just carry on.**

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**A Sirius Conversation & The Whole Truth**

It was ten at night when Hermione stopped by Sirius' quarters with a bottle of firewhiskey in hand. He opened the door and smiled when he saw her, "hey Mione, what brings you here at this time of night?" She held up the bottle and smiled, "could we talk, I need to discuss some things with you." He grinned when he saw the bottle, "with that in your hand how could I refuse, it'll be just like old times."

He let her in the door and they both took a seat on Sirius' Gryffindor style couch, Hermione conjured two shot glasses and Sirius poured out the alcohol. Hermione took the glass and downed the shot in one go, causing Sirius to look shocked, "wow Mione, lets go easy to start, you must have something pretty worrying to talk about if your downing shots of firewhiskey like that."

She grimaced, "you know how I've been dating Bill for a little while." Sirius nodded, "well yeah, Remus, Kingsley and I did catch the two of you snogging in the room of requirement if you remember," he gave a bark of laughter. She nodded, "well I really like him, though we've only been dating a few weeks, I've known him for years. There's stuff we should share with each other, things I need to tell him." Sirius nodded in agreement until she dropped the bombshell, "things like who I lost my virginity to."

He paled slightly at this, "Mione, you know he'll kill me." Hermione grimaced, "well yes, he is a bit protective, but I was thinking that some of the others deserve to know the truth." Sirius went whiter, even though it was near impossible, "who else do you want to tell?"

Hermione knew the list would make him panic so she rushed through it, speaking so fast he barely heard the names, "Harry, Ron, Remus, Ginny, Tonks and Kingsley." Sirius looked at her like she was mad, "are you bloody insane Mione, between a werewolf, a half werewolf, aurors, the boy who lived and Ginny's bat-bogey hex, how do you expect me to survive?"

"I know Sirius, I know, but they would have found out eventually and in times like these, in the middle of the war, we need to show trust in each other," Hermione said, trying to reason with him. He rolled his eyes, "I'm all for trust Mione, but I would like to live to see the end of this war thank you very much." She laughed, though she realised that after the revelations they would give, they'd both have things to answer to, but she wanted so badly to show trust in Bill and Sirius saw that, "fine Mione, you know I can't say no to the puppy dog eyes. But if I'm killed by them all then I promise you that I'll haunt you till you die."

She just smiled, lifted her glass and they toasted to a smooth outing of their secret with as little pain as possible.

* * *

It was two in the afternoon the day after Hermione had made her late night visit to see Sirius. Both were nervously trying to prepare themselves for what was to come, what they would reveal. They tried to cover their worry as the door to the room of requirement opened and her friends began to file in.

Hermione sighed, she really didn't want to do this, but she looked at Sirius, who nodded, albeit reluctantly, and knew she had to do it at some point. She had gathered everyone most important to her in the room; Bill, Harry, Remus, Sirius, Kingsley, Ginny, Tonks and Ron. They all looked nervous to see what would happen, even Sirius, who knew what was going to be said but was afraid of the reactions to his actions.

Hermione stood up and began, "right well, as I told you earlier you are here because you are everyone most important to me and I have something to share with you. But first you must promise that what I tell you will never leave this room and that no one else, especially Molly, finds out. They all voiced their consent, curious to hear what she had so far managed to keep from all of them.

"Well, you all know that on Christmas day everyone discovered how close Sirius and I were before he went through the veil and that he knew some of my secrets, ones I had never told anyone else. Well, in light of the beginning of my relationship with Bill and the fact that you should all probably know since it concerns you indirectly and you deserve to know, I am going to tell you one of my secrets."

They all nodded, "what is the secret Mione?" asked Bill. She looked at Sirius, who gave her a nod of encouragement, "the secret is who I lost my virginity to." Ginny and Tonks both gave squeals of excitement, so far Hermione had refused to tell them anything other than she was not a virgin. Remus, Harry and Kingsley both flexed their muscles, apparently getting ready to go 'speak' to the man in question. Sirius went a bit white at this but quickly covered it up.

Bill looked at her, "I thought it was Viktor Krum, that's what Ron told me when we started dating." Hermione rolled her eyes in Ron's direction, "don't believe anything he says Bill, he was always jealous of Viktor, anyways, that relationship never went further than hand holding and small kisses. We realised we were better off friends and it ended there."

"So who was the guy?" asked Remus, his eyes flashing dangerously. Hermione winced at his tone, but decided it was best to get it over with. "Sirius." Remus poked Sirius, "Mione wants you." Hermione shook her head, "no I don't want Sirius. He is the guy." The reactions were instantaneous, jaws dropping, loss of speech and Sirius attempting to hide behind his chair before he was dragged out by Remus. He looked at Hermione, "when, where and why?" Hermione took a step back and spoke, "it was Christmas during our fifth year at Grimmauld Place."

Everyone looked shocked and Harry, Remus, Kingsley and Bill all looked torn between attacking Sirius and hearing them out. "Explain, now," Remus spoke shortly to Hermione. "It happened when the Weasleys and Harry had gone to visit Mr Weasley in St Mungo's, Remus, Tonks, Mad-Eye and Kingsley had gone as the guard and I stayed behind to keep Sirius company." Ron snorted at this and Hermione glared at him, "it wasn't planned Ronald, actually you can probably blame it more on me than on Sirius. After all, I asked him to do it."

The whole room was in shock, apart from Tonks and Ginny, who were in giggles at this point. "Yeah," said Hermione with a smile, "Mr Weasley's attack made me realise how dangerous the war was and that I might not make it through it. I didn't want to die a virgin but I didn't want my first time to be inexperienced on both sides which was why I didn't ask Harry or Ron. Not to mention that would have felt like incest. So Sirius agreed, after much pleading on my side and we did it."

Most of the room was still glaring at Sirius, obviously not believing Hermione when she said she had instigated it. He tried to defend himself, "hey, she asked me to do it and I was really just doing a favour for a friend." Remus shook his head, "I can see now why you didn't want Molly knowing. Please tell me it was only the one time." To his relief Hermione nodded and he turned to Sirius. "Look Padfoot, I know you weren't taking advantage of her and that it was a one time deal, but she was sixteen, really what were you thinking?"

Sirius gave a grim look, "I've seen war before, just like you have Mooney, there is always the chance that you might not come back. I don't regret what Mione and I did, like she said, I was helping out a friend, one of my best friends."

He turned to Harry, "sorry Harry, please say you don't think I've betrayed your trust, I don't want you to be mad at me." Harry gave him a smile, "I could never be mad at you Sirius and I understand why you did it, after all it would be just like incest if Ron or I had done it. Still, both Ron and I find it a little weird still so please refrain from mentioning it too much." Sirius laughed, glad that his godson wasn't planning on killing him.

Hermione turned to look at Bill with a nervous look in her eye, he had remained quiet throughout and she was worried about his reaction. When he lifted his head to look at her she was worried when she saw anger in his eyes. "How am I supposed to deal with this Hermione," he asked her in a cool voice. "What do you mean Bill, it was two years ago, I just thought you should know." Bill took a breath, "Hermione, I see you and Sirius together all the time, hugs, kisses on the cheek and I never thought anything of it. What am I supposed to think now, how do I know you aren't in love with him, you slept with him for god's sake."

Hermione looked shocked, as did Sirius, "Bill, there is nothing between Sirius and I, there never was. I told you all that he was just helping a friend out. I trusted him but that doesn't mean I'm in love with him." Bill glared at her, "you love him, I can see it in your actions and your eyes." Hermione groaned, "of course I love him, he's one of my best friends, but that doesn't mean I'm in love with him. I love loads of guys, Remus, Kingsley, Harry, Ron, but I'm not in love with them."

Bill's scowl deepened, "Remus and Kingsley eh, how am I supposed to trust that you haven't done anything with them. You never told me about Sirius until now, you could be hiding other things." Remus and Kingsley were looking murderous at Bill's accusations, but he didn't notice them. Hermione for her part was furious and she let Bill know at once. "How dare you say such things William Weasley, Remus, Kingsley and Sirius are all extremely good friends, but nothing more. I'm going now and I'll talk to you when you're being more reasonable."

She grabbed Sirius and dragged him out of the room, while Harry and Ron pulled Remus and Kingsley out to prevent their attacking Bill. Ginny and Tonks both followed the rest of the group out of the door, both giving Bill dirty looks and Ginny swatting him over the head as they left.

Bill was left standing there alone trying to come to terms with what he had just been told. He was angry and hurt, but he knew deep down that he was in the wrong. He just wouldn't accept it yet.

* * *

Hermione stormed out of the room of requirement, followed by all those who had previously been in the room with her, excluding Bill. She was cursing rather loudly and the others looked at each other with worry, wincing at the thought of what she was muttering about doing to some of Bill's appendages.

She swung round to face them, tears streaked across her face, "who the hell does he think he is referring to me like some sort of slut, I have been with one guy only and that was one time. I hardly think that constitutes his reaction." Sirius was trying to calm her and Remus gave her a sympathetic look, "he's jealous Mione, you have so many guy friends that I assume he's worried about the implications. Plus being half-werewolf doesn't help, he will be more possessive over you."

She scowled, "that's really no excuse for that extent of behaviour, it should be obvious to him how much I love him. Anyway, it doesn't even concern him, it happened two years ago, I just thought I should return the trust he showed in me by telling him one of the few secrets he doesn't know. Then he goes and throws it back in my face."

The boys looked grave and both Ginny and Tonks were nodding sympathetically and glaring at the door of the room still containing Bill. Hermione growled under her breath before bidding the others goodbye and turning to Sirius, "can you walk me back to my room please Sirius?" He nodded and they set off, while the others just hoped things would turn out ok.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the previous chapter, it was very much appreciated; HSCswimmer, Readerforlife, Jim Red Hawk and bluesmidge101.**

**Please don't shout at me, this is still a Hermione/Bill story. Hermione slept with Sirius because she was worried about dying and didn't want to be a virgin - it was a favour for a friend and though they might both have a slight sexual attraction, Bill is her true love. More about her relationship with Sirius will be explained next chapter, which is up now.**


	36. Mione's Mistake & Forgiveness

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Just remember that whatever happens, this is a Hermione/Bill fic.**

**For reference, some of this chapter is from Sirius' POV, I won't point the parts out as it will be obvious. Much of it is either Hermione & Sirius' conversation, Sirius & Remus' conversation or Hermione & Bill's conversation.**

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**Mione's Mistake and Forgiveness**

The group that remained behind were silent as they watched Hermione and Sirius turn the corner and disappear. They were all deep in thought, trying to process the information about Hermione and Sirius, as well as attempting to come up with a plan to reconcile Hermione with Bill.

The silent thought continued for a few minutes until Remus' head suddenly shot up, panic plain on his features, "shit." The rest of the group looked up in shock at the normally well mannered werewolf swearing, "what's wrong Remus," asked Harry with concern.

Remus looked at them all, "do you realise what we just let happen. Hermione is currently pissed at Bill, her defences are down and she is upset and angry. We all know that a lot of those emotions are the only thing that leads to an unstable Hermione." They all nodded, wondering where he was going with his thinking, "we just let her go off to her dorm, with the only man she has ever slept with, in that state."

Now there were multiple curses, but Ron spoke quietly, "she insisted that Sirius was just a friend though." Ginny nodded, "yeah but that doesn't mean she doesn't find him attractive. There's always been a small amount of sexual tension there, it's just what happens with Sirius and females he is close to." Tonks jumped in there, "yep and with Mione so vulnerable at the moment she might try to initiate something."

Harry concluded, "he slept with her because she asked him to, a favour for a friend. If she asks him again he might try to deny her, but he won't be able to for long because he cares too much."

"Crap," they all chorused, before Remus decided to take control, "ok what we need to do is …" he was cut off when the door to the room of requirement opened and Bill came out. He looked up to see them all with a self-loathing look on his face, "hey guys, where's Mione, I thought about what she said and realised how wrong I was. I wanna say sorry to her."

Whatever reaction he had been expecting it was not the guilty looks that spread all over their faces, "what's happened guys," he asked slowly. Remus took a deep breath, "Bill what you said to Hermione caused a lot of emotions in her, ones that cause her to be unusually irrational. You remember what happened the day her parents died," he explained gently, referring to Hermione's attempt to leave the castle and go looking for Voldemort herself.

Bill nodded and Remus continued, "well she is vulnerable right now and asked Sirius of all people to take her back to her dorm. Now think carefully, she'll want to forget what happened with you two and will be unlike her normal rational self, add the fact that Sirius cares too much about her to deny her anything and you've got a whole load of trouble."

Bill looked worried, "what have I caused," he whispered to himself before muttering a few choice swear words and running down the corridor towards Gryffindor Tower. The rest looked at each other, nodded and ran right after him. They caught up with him just as he was about to enter the Gryffindor Tower common room. Praying that they wouldn't find what they thought they might they followed behind him to be confronted by the sight they most dreaded, Hermione locked in an embrace with Sirius.

* * *

Hermione had stormed back to her dorm, anger radiating from her very being and Sirius trying to keep up with her fast stride. "Mione, he doesn't mean it you know, he's just a bit vexed and jealous and needs some time to calm down, it was a bit of a shock for him."

Hermione turned her fiery glare on him, "don't start with me Sirius, he practically called me a whore in front of my closest friends, how do you think that felt for me?" Sirius heaved a sigh, trying to get an angry Hermione Granger to see sense was about as likely as Malfoy junior and Harry coming out of the closet and hooking up - not gonna happen.

He decided that the best course of action would be to follow her and try to make her see reason when she'd managed to calm down a bit. They reached the portrait for Gryffindor Tower and Hermione entered, Sirius close behind her. Hermione threw herself down onto one of the couches and let out a small huff, how dare Bill make such a fool of her, she'd told him because he'd shown trust in her and she just wanted to do the same, was that such a fucking crime.

Sirius stood in front of the fuming girl trying to make her see sense but she just refused to listen, Hermione may be a genius but he knew she had her flaws like everyone else and her temper was possibly her biggest flaw. After a few minutes of failed persuasion he had relegated himself to standing by the fireplace watching as she paced up and down the room. Finally she just stopped abruptly and burst into loud sobs.

He went straight over to her, hugging her close and whispering soothing words in her ear as she clutched him like he was her lifesaver. After a few moments she whispered something, "please Sirius, please help me forget." He knew instantly what she was asking of him and he shook his head sadly, "Mione you know you don't want that, you want Bill and you're just upset and irrational."

Her eyes went cold at his words and he swore he could feel his heart break at her expression, "please Sirius, I need it, I need you," she begged him ardently. He swore under his breath, why was it that with her he could deny no request, he knew he would walk to hell and back for her if need be.

The hurt and sadness in her eyes made the decision for him, he couldn't stand to see her in pain and so he did what she asked, he knew it was wrong and he knew he'd probably end up six feet under later for his actions. But he didn't care, all he wanted was to see her smile again.

So he kissed her.

* * *

Sirius sensed a movement in the corner of his eye only moments after the portrait door opened. He broke away from Hermione and turned his head, cringing for what he knew was to come. Bill was right at the head of the group, his face a mix of emotions; hurt, anger, guilt and sadness. The rest of the group had varying looks of concern, anger, worry and shock spread across their faces.

Sirius turned his head away as Hermione turned to see the group of spectators who had witnessed their 'exchange'. Her face turned from shock, to remorse to shame to anger and she shoved past the congregated group and out of the portrait door.

With one last look at Sirius, Bill sprinted out of the tower after Hermione and the rest of those who had been present evidently decided that the common room was not the place to be, for they dispersed out of it soon after Hermione and Bill's abrupt exits.

Sirius waited until he believed everyone had left so he could wallow in his own stupidity, but when he turned to head back to his own quarters he found himself face to face with a rather angry looking Remus Lupin. Just what he needed, a murderous and overprotective werewolf.

Guessing he wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon he plonked himself down onto a couch, "sit down and make yourself at home Remus, I assume this lecture will be long." His friend gave him a glare as he sat himself down next to him.

Sirius had to give it to Remus, he didn't beat round the bush and started ranting almost as soon as he sat down, "what the hell were you thinking Padfoot, she was vulnerable and angry and not thinking. This could put a huge strain on their relationship and if they break up then you will answer for it."

Sirius just remained silent and this seemed to frustrate Remus even more, "don't you have anything to say for yourself Padfoot?" He turned to look Remus in the eye, "of course I have something to say for myself, I just thought I'd let you get your pedantic lecture out of the way first." Remus frowned at him, but said nothing.

"Look Moony, if anything will put a strain on their relationship then its what the stupid prat said to her that started this entire mess. If he has even an ounce of brain in that head of his then he won't let a relationship with Mione escape him because of one mistake."

Whatever self-righteous comment Remus was about to make obviously no longer applied for he didn't speak and rolled his eyes to urge Sirius on. "Me and Mione are complicated Moony, she's got you, Kingsley, Harry and Ron who are all like brothers to her, completely platonic and all. But with me it's different, I can't have close friendships with girls without there being some type of attraction there." He paused for a moment, "unless they were seriously ugly of course." Remus couldn't help but laugh, though he sobered up rather quickly.

"It's in my nature to be flirtatious and I spent a lot of time with Hermione. Anyway, you can't spend the entirety of the summer nights getting drunk with a girl without making a fair few innuendoes and from what I actually remember I made my fair share and so did she."

Remus smiled but his expression grew serious, "honestly though Padfoot, that display will just seem like more proof for Bill that Hermione loves you and you love her. It even seems that may to many of us who just witnessed it," he said with an apologetic shrug.

Sirius contemplated it, "I don't know how to explain it, I love her, not in a platonic way, but not in a completely sexual way. We would never fall in love or get married because we just don't match that way, but if both of us were single and one of us wanted a strings-free shag then the other would oblige in a heartbeat. She's beautiful, sexy and great in bed, though I've only ever been there once. But both of us would be perfectly happy to never touch each other in a sexual way again if we found 'the one.' The kissing and sex was just a part of gaining comfort with each other."

Remus looked like he understood, "so she's just your friend then?" Sirius smiled, "she is more than just a normal friend. There are only three people alive that I would do anything for and they are Mione, Harry and you. That is how important she is to me. But if she and Bill remained together for the rest of their lives then I could guarantee that I wouldn't touch her in that way. The only reason I did today is that the little minx has me so wrapped round her little finger that I can't deny her anything."

Remus smiled brightly, "I think I get it now. And thanks by the way, for rating me up there with Harry and Mione." Sirius grinned back, "no problem Moony, now I'm gonna get back to my quarters. I need a stiff drink after all that, feel free to come drown your worries in firewhiskey later if you fancy."

"Thanks Padfoot, now do you mind me telling Bill what you've just revealed to me, it might help him understand a bit better and then he and Mione could make up quicker. Sirius nodded his approval and headed to his quarters while Remus went in search of Bill.

* * *

Hermione had been hiding in the room of requirement for forty five minutes now, shame occupying most of her thoughts. Now she was back in her more rational mind she realised what she had done, she'd kissed Sirius. She felt bad for so many reasons; she'd used emotion to coerce Sirius into kissing her, she'd possibly broken Bill's heart and she guessed the others were disappointed too.

She knew that Bill was also in the wrong, what with his degrading remarks, but what she'd done had been the wrong way to handle it. Sirius would forgive her, neither of them could ever stay mad at the other for long. But Bill was another story and she had no idea how to handle it.

She turned round in shock when she heard the door open and almost fell back when she saw it was Bill who had entered. He saw her and gave a tentative smile before sitting down beside her. "Remus came and found me, he told me that you sometimes went to what was referred to as 'Mione's garden' in order to think. Nice place," he gestured to the trees, flowers and pools surrounding them, as well as the soft patch of grass they were sitting on and the feeling of warmth all around.

She gave him a small smile but didn't speak, she didn't want him to begin shouting at her, which was what she expected. He remained silent for a few moments to admire the garden, before he spoke softly. "Remus also told me he'd spoken to Sirius when we left and he told me what Sirius had said. It's ok Mione, I get it now, I understand the sort of complicated relationship you have. I understand, kind of, after all you did save his life twice."

Her smile grew just a little, "I'm sorry Bill, to kiss Sirius was a bad idea. I was stupid and impulsive and …" "and everything that anyone is entitled to be occasionally, so I forgive you. I'm sorry too, what I said was unforgivable." She grinned at him, "well maybe not unforgivable, I suppose I should have expected a bad reaction, it is rather shocking news. I suppose I'm glad our fight overshadowed it and stopped them all asking too many questions. So thanks for that."

"It was my pleasure, my lady," he spoke in a joking tone. "But I truly am sorry," he said sincerely, "as am I," added Hermione with equal seriousness. The two looked intently at each other for a moment until they burst into laughter.

"So what are we to do now then Bill?" He gave her the secret smile he had just for her, "well I stopped by the kitchens and got some of your favourites; strawberries with dipping chocolate and also an assortment of cakes and éclairs." Hermione squealed with delight and hugged him round the middle as he produced a small wicker basket, planting a soft kiss on his lips.

"Now we eat," she announced with mock flair and followed the statement with another kiss, before digging into the éclairs. The day had just got a whole lot better.

* * *

**Sorry if you find it difficult to understand Hermione and Sirius' relationship, it is very complicated after all. I can't really explain it but it's a sort of soulmate thing - Hermione and Bill are each other's one true love, but Hermione and Sirius are soulmates, a balance of a platonic and sexual relationship and complementing each other perfectly. Of course Hermione and Sirius won't do anything sexual from now on because Hermione has worked things out with Bill.**

**Next chapter - the girls take a trip to the spa to relax.**


	37. Girl's Day Out

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. I am sorry for the rather long wait, almost a week, but I've had exams and been rather busy so I apologise.**

* * *

**Girl's Day Out**

Ginny had decided that after the dramatic and tiring day Hermione had dealt with, she deserved some relaxation. That was why Hermione found herself being woken up at 7 am the day after her fight with Bill to be dragged to a wizarding spa by Ginny, Tonks and Luna.

She had questioned the chirpy red-head about what exactly was relaxing about being woken up so early, but Ginny had just rolled her eyes and told Hermione that they were booked in early to get lots done during the day. Ginny was a force to be reckoned with and so the little problem of them not being allowed outside Hogwarts was solved by her arguments that Tonks would be with them and they would take two Order members as guards. That was how Mad-Eye and Kingsley found themselves standing outside the massage room the girls were in looking completely out of place and grumbling about vicious little red-heads. They might be top aurors, but anyone with any sense was wary of Ginny on a mission.

Hermione had to admit that all her worries seemed to melt away once the massage started, it was completely heavenly to be pampered and she knew there was a lot of tension in her shoulders and back from the amount of books she carried around. From the content moans she could hear Ginny, Tonks and Luna emitting, they were all enjoying it just as much as she was and though all bar Luna were in an official relationship (Luna and Blaise were practically dating anyway) they still enjoyed the view of the rather handsome male masseurs that Ginny had decided on.

The girls didn't chat much during the massages, too busy enjoying them and not wishing to have private conversations in such a public place. Instead, Hermione took the time to compare her rare experiences of muggle massages to this wizarding spa's version. She found the current one much more pleasing since magic could give a soothing atmosphere quickly and the magical lotions were much more effective than muggle versions.

Massages soon finished and the four girls moved onto the steam room, followed by Kingsley and Moody, who stood outside the door trying to look subtle and failing miserably - after all how often did you see two imposing men standing guard outside a sauna of all things. Hermione had to giggle a little at that, she would have probably made a joke to Kingsley about it (because you never joke with Moody), but the war mood at the moment and the reasons the two aurors had to go with them stopped any comment.

Ginny cast a privacy charm on the room as soon as all four girls had entered, you could never be too careful with Voldemort around, he had spies everywhere. Hermione had only a minute to get comfortably settled on one of the wooden benches, wrapped in a fluffy white towel, before the three other occupants of the room turned their eyes eagerly on her. She anticipated their barrage of questions just before they were thrown at her - "I can't believe you didn't tell me about you and Sirius" - "so … what was he like?" - "I'm shocked you actually told the boys, it does explain why Sirius was so petrified though."

Hermione went pink with embarrassment, "calm down you three, I didn't tell you because it was a secret I shared with Sirius and so I obviously wasn't going to tell you when he was in the veil - it would have just led to a rather large outpouring of emotion. Then when I brought him back it never seemed like a good time, then there would have been severe problems if any of the boys had found out. I asked his permission to tell you all because I trust you all and I knew that Bill deserved to know - I would have probably had to tell him anyway, if we date long enough to sleep together."

They looked about to ask another question but Hermione cut them off, "that is all I will tell you about my motives for telling Bill. I let you three know because I knew you were desperate to find out. As for the boys, I wanted witnesses in case Bill tried to kill Sirius, though I knew there was the risk that they'd do the job themselves." She sighed, "I guess I miscalculated, because it wasn't Bill who really got mad at Sirius, he just got mad at me and ended up insulting Remus and Kingsley in the process. I should have just kept my mouth shut."

Ginny, Tonks and Luna, seeing that their friend was close to tears, converged on her in a group hug. Ginny shook her head fiercely, "it's not your fault Mione, it was incredibly brave and probably a bit stupid to tell us all, but you are a Gryffindor and we're good at shocking people. Anyway, we're all very honoured that you told us and I know for a fact that Sirius is still alive, though he got some stern words from Remus, Kingsley, Harry and Ron. Bill was being a prat anyway, he normally has much more tact and that little episode of his reminded me so much of Ron."

Hermione smiled at Ginny, her eyes still a little teary, she was surprised that the red head had taken her side rather than her oldest and favourite brother's. She knew that what Bill had said was out of line, but she hadn't been and angel and family tended to come first for Ginny. "Thanks you guys, now can we please talk about something a bit happier?"

Luna looked at Hermione with her usual dreamy expression, but it had a little mischievous smile hidden underneath as she posed her question - "so how was Sirius in bed then?" Hermione just threw her spare towel at the blonde as the four occupants of the sauna burst out laughing."

* * *

The remaining sauna time was spent with Hermione's three friends clamouring for details of her one time with Sirius, Ginny and Luna because both thought he was completely hot and Tonks because she wanted something to tease her cousin with. Hermione managed to remain tight-lipped though, giving away only a few vague details she knew Sirius wouldn't mind her telling him. The basic impression they got was that Sirius had been good … very good indeed.

Kingsley and Moody tailed the girls as they moved to the pool, where they swam some laps before just racing, splashing and having fun. Hermione enjoyed it … being able to just laugh and act like a little child, forgetting about the war for a while and being the teenager she'd never really had the chance to be. She noticed the small smile that graced Kingsley's features, though she wasn't sure if it was because they were all having fun or due to the slender witch in the revealing bikini who had entered the pool just after them - Kingsley was a confirmed bachelor, but she knew he had an eye for pretty witches who didn't mind no-strings relationships. Moody just shook his head and kept a sharp eye out for danger, his magical eye rotating the entire 360 degrees every few minutes.

The girls slipped periodically from the pool to the jacuzzi, always shivering from the temperature change as they went from the latter to the former. Ginny decided the best way to combat this would be to just jump into the deep end of the pool to get the sudden temperature change over with. Tonks was all for the idea and jumped straight in after Ginny. Luna and Hermione were a little more sceptical and didn't fancy such a drastic change in temperature as opposed to the slow way they got used to it as they went down the steps into the pool. Eventually Ginny and Tonks got sick of waiting and exited the pool, pushing the brunette and blonde into the pool forcefully before jumping in after them and swimming quickly away to avoid the wrath of the shivering Hermione and Luna.

After about an hour in and around the pool Hermione could tell that Moody was getting impatient - he'd had to smack Kingsley, who was normally an excellent auror, around the head about ten times to get him to focus on their the four females under his care rather than the good looking, busty witches in the room. She took pity on the old auror and dragged the other three into the changing rooms, smiling slightly as Moody gave her a rare smile in thanks.

* * *

Hermione was looking forward to the last section of their day; hair styling, facial and manicure. She might not be an overly materialistic girly girl, neither were Ginny, Tonks or Luna really. But they all appreciated dressing up occasionally and they loved being pampered once in a while.

Like the masseurs, the stylists had been carefully vetted and were very pro-Order, they'd all known one Order member or another rather well and were trusted. They seemed delighted to have Harry Potter's girlfriend, best friend and two other friends there with them and they chattered excitedly to them all as they worked their magic, though they always steered clear of any topic around the war.

Since it was a rather small, exclusive salon, Ginny and Luna went first and Hermione watched as their hair was cut and layered and straightened, before they went off the moisturise while two of the witches filed, buffed and painted their nails (gold for Ginny and bright blue for Luna).

Tonks skipped the hair styling, being a metamorphagus meant she just concentrated for a second before getting her desired hairstyle, her natural raven black, but with some violet highlights in keeping with her sparky personality. Hermione had her hair trimmed and a few layers cut in, making her curly hair look brighter and healthier. Tonks picked violet nail varnish to match her highlights, while Hermione agonised over colours for a while before deciding to forgo her usual choice of clear polish and picking out a deep red for the manicurist to apply.

They let the polish dry as they enjoyed their facials and Hermione left the spa feeling very refreshed. From the looks on the faces of the other three, they felt the same. She had to admit that they all looked pretty good and she couldn't wait to surprise Bill with her fresher look and a more relaxed attitude - for the day at least. She was also sure that Tonks would be very busy with Remus as soon as they arrived back at Hogwarts, the same went for Ginny and Harry. As for Luna, hopefully this would be one step closer to her revealing her feelings about Blaise, she was getting a bit sick of them dancing round their feelings.

They exited the spa and walked a little further down the path towards the cosy little café next to it. Hermione smiled as she spoke, "come on you lot, let's eat and then we can go back to Hogwarts and knock those boys' socks off with our new looks."

"Yes," she thought happily, "we're all bound to have a great time tonight."

* * *

**Thanks to Readerforlife for the review of last chapter, it was much appreciated. Thanks to Mel for the review and the constructive criticism, I shall endeavour to use your suggestions. **

**Updates will be a little random for a few weeks, there could be two in a few days or there might not be one for a week. I have some rather important coursework due soon and will therefore be busy. The schedule will hopefully go back to normal (a chapter every 3 days) in a few weeks. Apologies for any inconvenience or unpredictability. **

**Next chapter; a look into the perspective of our favourite Azkaban escapee - Sirius. **


	38. Interlude: Sirius

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter and all the fluff.**

* * *

**Interlude: Sirius**

Sirius Black's life had changed drastically when he was 11 years old and went off to Hogwarts to be sorted into Gryffindor. His life before that had been listening to his parent's pureblood rantings and his little brother's attempts to suck up. He didn't see what was so wrong with muggles, muggleborns or half-bloods, they were people just like purebloods were. He certainly didn't care about the maniac who called himself Voldemort.

His tendency to voice his disagreements to his horrid parents meant his first 11 years of life were pretty miserable. Then he'd been sorted into the house of the brave and chivalrous and not the sneaky, slimy house he had been so desperate to avoid. From then on his life had been very different, he had true friends in James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Their friendship had stood the test of time for seven long years in school and three out of it when it all went wrong.

Somehow, in the space of a few days Lily and James were dead and he was in Azkaban because Peter was a bloody traitor. He didn't like to think of his time in that hellish place, sometimes he wondered how he'd managed to survive with memories of his horrible family, along with James and Lily's still bodies, Remus' accusing glance, Dumbledore's disappointment and Peter's slimy grin. When he'd finally escaped, with help from his godson and the bushy haired brunette with the time turner, he'd managed to gain some of what he'd lost back.

Remus was still there and loyal as ever, he had a reminder of James and Lily in Harry and he wouldn't want Peter back for any reason other than to kill the traitor himself. He enjoyed reminiscing with Remus about the 'good old days' in Hogwarts, when James and Lily had been alive and Peter had been a friend. He'd been a great drinking buddy for Sirius when Hermione wasn't around, always making sure he made it safely to his room before Molly could start lecturing him on his immoral behaviour. Remus was like his conscience, calmly berating and gently lecturing when his behaviour got a little too out of hand, but never being overly annoying … usually.

Harry was a blessing to him too, the son he never had and the living, breathing reminder of his dead best friend. Despite what some people thought, he had never confused his godson with his lost best friend. While Harry was the spitting image of James, with Lily's eyes, he had been through a lot more during his seventeen years than James had before he left Hogwarts and consequently, Harry was a more serious, motivated young man. There were many similarities of course, Harry's relationship with Ginny Weasley reminded him a lot of James' with the fiery Lily Evans and Harry was just as talented as his parents, if not more so in certain areas.

So there was Remus, Harry and then along came Hermione Granger. The bushy haired girl who'd saved his life had become a curly haired young woman with a heart of gold, huge intelligence and a fiery temper. They'd gotten along so easily, finding teasingly argumentative banter was their forte and enjoying their moral debates immensely. Despite his popularity in school and up until his incarceration in Azkaban, he'd had few true friends. With his rather depressing upbringing and practically his entire family as psychopathic maniacs, it took a lot for him to trust someone. He was friendly with everyone in the Order (when Molly wasn't scolding him), though he made an exception for Snape, who he would never get along with. Still, he would only trust Remus, Harry and Hermione with his life and his closest friends apart from those three were Kingsley and Tonks.

He loved them all, needed them to remain happy. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost any of them in the war. He would protect them at all costs.

* * *

When Hermione had told him that she wanted to share their most protected secret he had almost fainted. He knew the sort of reactions the news would give and he didn't particularly fancy being on the end of it. But she'd wanted to tell their nearest and dearest so much. Then she'd brought the firewhiskey and he couldn't say no - Merlin that girl knew his weaknesses.

He'd seemed to get off lucky when most of the attention had been directed at the argument Bill had started with Hermione, but he wasn't pleased at seeing Hermione so upset, though he knew that most of the time Bill was good for her. Still, he'd got a lecture from Moony and another later from Kingsley - never an enjoyable experience - while his purple haired cousin and Ginny had giggled and Harry and Ron had stayed resolutely quiet, not really wanting to think much about the entire incident.

Bill had come to find him the day after what he termed as 'the incident', a little sheepish and obviously sorry. He'd apologised for the things he'd said and how he had reacted, assuring Sirius that he had also apologised profusely to Hermione as well. Sirius had forgiven him easily, he only held grudges against those he really hated and he'd known that Bill's jealousy and anger could be a likely reaction to the news. They'd parted amicably, though Sirius had seen a hint in the younger man's eyes of a little lingering jealousy, nothing to worry about though.

Hermione, Tonks, Ginny and Luna were all at a wizarding spa, while Kingsley and Moody had been assigned to accompany them. Sirius laughed at the thought, the poor bastards must hate that assignment, both boring and embarrassing. He wondered how Moody was acting about the whole thing, he somehow didn't think that the auror would appreciate having to spend a day babysitting the girls.

Sirius spent a rather awkward hour talking with Narcissa and Draco, made even worse by the fact that Tonks wasn't there to chatter on and act like a buffer. Still, he got through it without any terrible silences or arguments, managing to remind himself that Cissa hadn't been all that bad when they were younger (though not nearly as nice as Andromeda) and that while Draco had been a bastard when he was younger, he had repented and tried to make amends.

He spent time talking over Order news with Dumbledore and Remus for a few hours, before going to vent his frustration at Voldemort, who had been killing more and more, in the room of requirement. By the time he had finished, showered and eaten dinner, Kingsley and Moody had returned with the four girls, all looking fresh, relaxed and happy. Moody was muttering about "bloody babysitting duty" and "Shacklebolt didn't even pay much attention, no one bothers with constant vigilance any more." Sirius snorted in amusement, though he was careful not to let Moody notice, the old auror took everything so seriously, then again with the war on he couldn't really blame the man.

Kingsley sauntered over to where he was sitting, dropping down onto the bench next to him with a grin, "Sirius mate, you missed out on a seriously good time today." Seeing the confused look on Sirius' face, Kingsley continued, "it wasn't just watching and constant vigilance, though that was all Moody seemed to want to do. There were some seriously hot women in that spa and they were all wearing next to nothing." He paused as his blissful expression faded, "of course Moody saw I was distracted, got annoyed and so Mione took pity on him and dragged us all out of there. Such a shame I couldn't get to know some of them a little better."

Sirius pouted, "you get all the luck, they'll never let me do that because I'm still a bloody fugitive and I'd be arrested as soon as I set foot in a public place." Kingsley just laughed and patted Sirius' shoulder in sympathy, "never mind mate, all the more for me." Sirius just threw a dirty look at his friend and they both laughed.

* * *

Sirius was bored. Most of the Order were out on missions, at work or busy and the teenagers were all in training. He couldn't go and annoy Tonks because her pregnancy was starting to show and she was rather hormonal and prone to hexing people for no real reason. Not to mention that Remus would probably try to castrate him if he annoyed her. They just weren't fun at the moment, too wrapped up in the pregnancy. He did think it was great that there would be a mini-marauder running round soon and he couldn't wait to teach the kid to prank, but he really was bored.

In the end he decided to go through a box of things he'd kept from his childhood and teenage years - mostly from Hogwarts. It might make him a little sad to think of James and Lily, but he didn't want to forget them and he loved to remember the great pranks the marauders had executed at Hogwarts, terrifying teachers and students alike.

Each object in the box held a memory close to his heart - it looked like it was an afternoon for reminiscing. The first thing he pulled out was his Gryffindor tie, ahh how he loved his house, it was where he'd made his best friends after all. He remembered the day he was sorted very well;

"_Black, Sirius," called Professor McGonagall and Sirius walked slowly up the steps towards the chair with the sorting hat. He looked back over his shoulders at James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, who he had met on the train. None of them had been sorted yet, but he had a feeling that James at least would be in Gryffindor, from what he had seen of bookish Remus, he would probably make Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. He wasn't sure about Peter, he'd seen a little hopeless on the train. _

_He sat down on the stool, no worry showing on his features, he was a Black after all. However, inside he was shaking, he didn't want to be in Slytherin like practically all his family, he wanted to be Gryffindor like his great-uncle Alphard or his cousin Andromeda. He placed the hat on his head and listened as it spoke, "hmmm, interesting mind here. You have brains, that's for sure, but you prefer to use them for mischief rather than study so I fear Ravenclaw is not for you. Loyalty - you have that in abundance when someone has gained your trust, but Hufflepuff is a little too nice for you. Almost your entire family has been in Slytherin, yet you hope so badly to stay away and I believe it is a wise decision. Well that leaves just one place for you Sirius Black … GRYFFINDOR."_

_Sirius smiled as he went to sit down at the Gryffindor table, ignoring the whispers from the Slytherin concerning a Black not being sorted as a Slytherin. As he peered over at that table he noted that Narcissa, the only first cousin of his left at Hogwarts, was glaring at him and he knew she would most certainly be sending an owl to his mother immediately concerning his 'traitorous' leanings and he guessed he should expect a few howlers in the next few days. Never mind, it was worth it._

_The rest of the sorting finished and Sirius was delighted when James, Remus and Peter were all sorted into Gryffindor too. They took places next and opposite to him and the four immediately began talking. Sirius and James soon had their first prank planned for the next day, with the help of a reluctant Remus and an eager Peter. Thus the Marauders were born._

Sirius broke away from his memory as he heard the door open and saw Remus step inside, "hello Padfoot, what have you been up to?" Sirius shrugged and gestured towards the box, "just remembering," he told his friend. Remus nodded, "well Harry's organised an impromptu quidditch game and Mione's even agreed to put down her books for a while and come watch, you in?"

Sirius placed the tie back in the box and magically sealed it, there would be time for more memories later. He stood up and smiled at Remus, "sure Moony, after all, someone's got to show the kids how real men play quidditch." Remus shook his head in amusement and they headed out to the pitch.

* * *

**Thank you to all those who reviewed the previous chapter, it was very much appreciated; Readerforlife, LoveIt123 and .**

**From what I read on Harry Potter wiki, Andromeda Tonks and Alphard Black were both Slytherins and this seems to be confirmed by what Sirius says about his whole family being in Slytherin and Slughorn's comment about all the Blacks being in his house (Slytherin). However I am using a little creative licence and putting the two in Gryffindor to show their disbelief in Black family values. **

**Sorry if it seemed like a bit of an abrupt ending, but I couldn't think of anything to put. The next chapter, which will probably be up in 3 days to a week, will detail Hermione's early morning encounter with someone in the kitchens of Hogwarts. **


	39. An Early Morning Encounter

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

**An Early Morning Encounter**

It was four in the morning and Hermione had woken up, unable to get back to sleep. She had a sudden craving for a snack, but she also knew that she wasn't supposed to go anywhere without an escort. However, she knew that none of her friends would appreciate being woken at this ungodly hour and she didn't think it would hurt to go just to the kitchens and back on her own.

Stepping out of bed she shivered a little at the cold, pulled her dressing gown on and slipped on her fluffy slippers, before padding down the spiral stairs. She winced as she forget to skip the squeaky step and sighed in relief when she heard no sound from back up in the dorms. She got to the portrait hole and swung it open,

The Fat Lady woke at being jolted and gave Hermione a glare, "and just where do you think you're going young lady, I was under the impression that you weren't allowed out alone." Hermione gave a sheepish smile, "sorry, but I was hungry and didn't want to wake any of my friends up." The Fat Lady still continued, "well go ahead, but don't expect me to care if you end up in some sort of trouble. I won't be woken up to let you in either"

Hermione just glowered at the portrait, how dare she lecture on responsibility, that bloody painting got drunk with her friend Violet every Christmas and ended up hung-over for days. Who even knew that a portrait could get a hangover.

For safety she disillusioned herself and set of down the staircase towards the kitchens. She reached the portrait of the bowl of fruit after 10 minutes and tickled the pear to get in. What she saw surprised her, she wasn't alone, Draco was sitting at the little wooden table running down the middle of the kitchens with a steaming drink and a bacon sandwich in front of him.

He looked up when he heard her enter and his eyes moved across her like he couldn't see where she was - then she remembered he couldn't. Lifting her wand she lifted the disillusionment charm and his eyes widened when he saw her. "What are you doing here and without an escort at that," he smirked at her.

She rolled her eyes and sat down on the bench opposite him, "I was hungry and didn't want to disturb anyone so I just snuck out." Draco smirked, "how very Slytherin of you Granger, I'm almost impressed." She rolled her eyes, "you know I do have a name Draco, I know it might be a little difficult for your small brain to get round, but let's give it a try - Her-mi-one."

He sneered at her, though she knew he wasn't serious, "my brain is perfectly adequate thank you very much, if I remember correctly I was second in our year." She grinned, "yeah, right behind me. Seems strange that the two highest achievers in our year weren't Ravenclaws. Still, I was considered for that house." Draco nodded, "I guessed you might of, it thought about it for a split second for me, but I am Slytherin through and through." "You got that right," she muttered under her breath, smiling as one of the house elves set a mug of hot chocolate and a warm croissant in front of her.

"Anyway," Draco said, "you can't blame me for my failure to call you Hermione, after all I spent six years calling you Granger or Mudblood or Busy-haired, bucktoothed …" Hermione held up a hand, "alright, I've got the picture Draco." He grinned and took a bite of his sandwich. They sat in silence for a few moments, while Hermione reflected on how she would never have thought she'd be sitting and chatting with Draco Malfoy amicably. If anyone had told her that two years ago she would have had them committed to St Mungo's.

"So … any reason you can't sleep," her companion asked with interest, "or just things in general." Hermione shrugged, "I don't always sleep too well, ever since the war really started at the end of fourth year I tend to sleep badly at least once a week. It was ok some of the time, when we stayed at Grimmauld Place then Sirius would normally be awake if I woke up and he'd help me. Now we're at Hogwarts, well the rest of them tend to sleep like the dead, especially Ginny and Luna. I'd go over to Bill's quarters but it really is too far for me to be wandering on my own and I know he'd worry. Same goes for Sirius."

Draco looked speculatively at her over his mug, "you and Black are pretty close aren't you?" Hermione nodded emphatically, "sometimes I don't know what I'd do without him - life would certainly be a lot duller. He's one of my best friends." Draco gave her a shrewd look, "but it's more than that, I can tell. There is, or at least has been, something other than friendship between the two of you."

Hermione dropped her head to hide her blush, "damn Slytherins," she muttered, "too sneaky … can't keep anything hidden." She lifted her head to meet his smirk, "you're right, Sirius and I slept together once, I didn't want to die a virgin and the attack on Mr Weasley had reminded me of my mortality. Since then the only romantic gesture we have shared is one kiss. Sirius and I have a complicated relationship I doubt anyone but ourselves can understand, but I am perfectly happy with Bill now," she told him primly.

Draco laughed, still a rare sound from him, "don't get your panties in a twist Granger, anyone with half a brain cell can tell you and Weasley are besotted - and I have a whole lot more than half a brain cell. Still, never would have pegged you as the sort of girl to sleep with Black when you were sixteen. I think my opinion of you may have risen a few notches."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I'm so honoured Malfoy," she told him sarcastically, "like I actually care what your opinion of me is." He grinned, "and that is why you amuse me Hermione, you don't try to impress people and it is rather funny to watch sometimes. Plus you're always having a go at Potter and Weasley, which is good in my books."

Hermione laughed, "oh Draco, you're going to have to learn to get along with them at some point, we are all on the same side after all." Malfoy pouted childishly, "I'll play fair when they do, anyway, I call them Potter and Weasley instead of Potty and Weasel don't I?" The girl opposite him sighed, "well I guess it'll have to do for now."

* * *

They sat talking for a while, the topics of conversation ranging from lessons to training to Voldemort and the war. Draco managed to get along without constantly insulting Harry and Ron, which made Hermione rather proud of him. They discussed their potions work and Hermione was glad of the chance to talk to someone who enjoyed the subject and who didn't dislike Severus to the extent that Harry, Ron and Sirius did.

"What do you think of Blaise and Luna?" Hermione asked him during a lull in conversation. Draco shrugged, "Lovegood is a little … strange, but she is Ravenclaw so she's obviously got brains. Blaise is my best mate and I want him to be happy. If that means he's with Loony - I mean Luna, then it's ok with me, as long as she doesn't start talking my ear off with those stupid nargle theories of hers."

Hermione gave a small smile, "Luna is certainly eccentric, but she's also a bit of a loner, only really has us in the tower as friends and Blaise is a bit like that too - he only ever really had you. I think they'd be good together, of course he just has to actually ask her out now and I'm not holding my breath for that happening anytime soon without interference."

Draco nodded and there was another silence until Hermione spoke, "come on," she said to him after a minute, "we better get back to the tower before Moody goes on another one of his random bed checks and we end up with a two hour lecture on constant vigilance." Draco shuddered, "I had to sit through that bloody speech once and it was more than enough, I may just throw myself off a tower if I have to listen to it again. He's a cool auror and all, but he's fucking scary at times."

His companion laughed and once Hermione had thanked the elves emphatically for the food and Draco had reluctantly muttered his thanks, the two of them crept back to the tower, thankful for the fact that Filch and Mrs Norris were no longer present and relieved to find that Moody was asleep that night.

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**Thanks to Jazz's Pixie Freak for the review of chapter 37. Thank you as well to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; Readerforlife, LoveIt123 and HSCswimmer.**

**Next chapter: we see a little more of Fred and George as they enlist Hermione's help in creating a new product.**


	40. A Helping Hand For Fred & George

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

**Thank you to Ladygoddess8 for the suggestion of Fred and George's product being the nudge Blaise needs to ask Luna out. It was a good idea, but the general idea of this chapter had already been written, as had some of the Blaise/Luna sub-plot. Do not fear, the pair of them will get together, but it won't be for about another five chapters so sorry if you dislike the wait.**

**Sorry this chapter has taken a bit longer than normal, but coursework deadlines and a lack of sleep (resulting in exhaustion) meant I haven't had too much time to work on this. Hopefully things will speed up again now.**

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**A Helping Hand For Fred & George**

"Her-miiiii-oooo-neeeeeeeeee," came the cry in the common room of Gryffindor tower as one half of the Weasley twins came bounding over to where Hermione was curled up on the sofa, huge book in hand. "What do you want Fred," asked Hermione tersely, not even looking up from her book. Fred looked suddenly taken aback, "how did you know it was me Mione, you didn't even look up."

Hermione placed the book next to her and swivelled round to face Fred, "I knew it was you Fred because out of you and George you are the most obnoxiously annoying and only you could have managed to make my name sound so whiny and annoying."

Fred pouted playfully, "I do not sound whiny and I'm not obnoxious Mione." Hermione just grinned, "whatever you say Fred, now what do you want, you better have a good reason for interrupting me because I was getting to the good part," she said, gesturing to her book.

Fred plonked himself down into the seat next to her, "well Mione, George and I have just come up with a fantastic new invention. It's a potion which can be placed in to any drink, though we recommend not alcohol since it tends to enhance your intoxication, and will cause the drinker to become unable to speak in anything but rhyme for a full 24 hours."

Hermione looked rather impressed, "wow, that must be a pretty complex potion. I assume it's a joke product for teenagers?" Fred nodded, "pretty much, though we have had an advanced order from Sirius, he told us he planned to use it on Snape."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "some people never grow up. But you must have some sort of problem if you're coming to me." Fred nodded, "yeah, well we just can't get the potion to be tasteless, it's kinda strawberry flavoured at the moment and people can't put it into drinks because you can taste that there's something wrong in the first sip."

Hermione looked thoughtful, "yes, that would be a problem. Well I have a few ideas about what might solve your problem." Fred looked excited, "does that mean you'll help us." She smiled, "sure Fred, only for my favourite twins, but if you ever think to try and use this, or any of your other inventions, on me then I will make you rue the day you were born." Fred gulped, knowing that the look on Hermione's face meant she was perfectly serious and making a mental note to remind George that they should never test products on Hermione.

Seeing Fred's fleeting look of fear and his slight nod, Hermione beamed at him once more before closing her book and standing up. "I'm going to put this," she gestured to the book, "back in the dorm and get a few potions books I think we'll need and then I'll meet you in your invention room in five minutes."

He nodded again and Hermione headed up to the girl's dorm, returning to the common room a few minutes later and heading through a nondescript wooden door hidden in one of the corners. This was what the Order informally christened 'Fred and George's invention room' and was where most of their experiments went on. Of course, being Fred and George they still liked to make mischief and so the boy's dorm was still occasionally used for the odd test, much to the chagrin of those who slept there.

The room was about half the size of one of the large Hogwarts classrooms, with marble lab tables against the wall in one half of the room, numerous shelves filled with products, potions and supplies, papers on their work and a large space in the middle for product testing. There was also a fireplace with a direct floo passage to the Hospital Wing - with products made by Fred and George, you never knew when the medi-witch would be needed.

She found the twins both hovering over a cauldron filled with a bubbling clear liquid that she assumed must be the potion they needed help on. She cleared her throat and both boys turned round, giving her twin grins and beckoning her forward. She smiled, "we better get started then, lots to do."

* * *

Hermione hummed quietly as she worked, flitting between the multiple cauldrons she'd set up to test the potion's reaction to different ingredients. She swore softly as the Fluxweed she'd added caused the potion to turn a sickly yellow and vanished the cauldron and ingredients quickly to prevent the noxious smell escaping. "Looks like that one is out of the question," she murmured to herself, crossing the name off her list, "maybe the Boomslang skin will work better."

She lifted her head and looked towards the shelf on the opposite side of the room. Holding out her hand, the jar came soaring into her hand and she added it to the potion. She lifted her head again afterwards, the potion had to stand for ten minutes before any results were shown, and looked into Fred and George's shocked eyes. The twins had been doing a stock take while she was working and must have noticed her use of wandless, wordless magic.

She gave them a sheepish grin, "you two know I'm learning wandless magic don't you? Why are you so shocked?" George shook his head out of the daze, "sorry Mione, we all know what you're learning but I guess a lot of us have never seen it in practice. I had no idea you were so advanced - wandless and wordless, it must be useful."

She nodded, "very useful indeed, especially when I'm in a hurry or in danger, though that has yet to be much of a problem … yet. Maybe one day, when the war is over and we have time, I'll try and teach you a few basic wandless spells, it would probably be useful for you." Twin smiles and Hermione grinned inwardly, at least they weren't uncomfortable with her power, like some would probably be.

"Care to show us what you can do?" asked Fred jovially and Hermione smirked, "well, I was always told that it was wrong to show off … but what the hell." Two seconds and one small twitch of her hand later and Fred and George were sporting pink hair and sparkly tutus. She burst into uncontrollable giggles as they frowned, "ha, got you, and you wont even be able to do anything about it because I'm the one trying to fix your potion."

Their scowls grew deeper but they remained silent as Hermione went back to her work, never saying a word about changing them back to normal. Unfortunately the Boomslang skin failed, as did the powdered Bicorn horn, Moondew drops, shredded Dittany and Wiggentree bark. She cursed again, eliciting snorts of laughter from Fred and George, who were currently trying - and failing - to change their hair and clothes back themselves.

"Shut it you two," she hissed menacingly, "or I'll put those tutus to good use and you can find out what it's like to ballet dance - I'll take pictures too." They closed their mouths quickly, getting back to their stock take quietly, though she heard them mutter one word simultaneously under their breaths; "scary". Well that was what they thought of her after all, good thing too since it kept them from experimenting on her most of the time. Grinning inwardly, she finally turned to the final ingredient on her list; Knotgrass, sending a silent plea to Merlin that this would work. If it didn't then they'd just be back to square one again.

Fred and George were next to her, watching eagerly along with her as she dropped the Knotgrass into the potion and took a breath. A minute later and there was no visible change so she let her breath out slowly, "I think …, I think it may well have worked," she told them. She and George took a careful watch over the cauldron for the next ten minutes, recording the results, while Fred continued to do the stock take.

At the end of the ten minutes, Hermione completed a number of diagnostics tests to ascertain that the potion wasn't poisonous and they dragged Remus, who was chatting to Harry, Ron and Ginny in the common room with Tonks and Sirius, into the room to check that his heightened werewolf senses couldn't get a whiff of the potion. They breathed sighs of relief when he told them he smelt nothing and they sent him back to the others were grateful smiles and thanks.

Before they could begin the final stage - testing the potion - Hermione deigned to return the twins' hair from pink to their normal red and she transfigured the pink tutus back to their normal clothes, much to their audible relief. Unlike most trials, both Fred and George were going to test the product, with Hermione observing to check nothing went wrong. They'd worked out that only two tablespoons of the potion would be needed and this was placed in each of the two cups of pumpkin juice. The twins lifted their glasses and toasted before downing them in one go.

They remained quiet - no side effects for the moment and neither of them looked to be having a bad reaction to the potion. George opened his mouth to speak and to their joy and amusement it was in rhyme;

"_There appears to be no side effects_

_Like allergies from people's pets_

_I think it's working rather well_

_And we'll be rhyming for a spell."_

Hermione beamed as George's face went red and Fred snickered into his hand. From the look on the former twin's face he hadn't quite meant to say what had come out of his mouth. It looked like the potion took what you were trying to say and morphed it so the speaker used only rhyme. It was a very funny outcome and she laughed harder as Fred tried it out;

"_This potion is definitely one of our best_

_I'm sure it'll amuse all the rest_

_I can't wait for Sirius to try it out on Snape_

_A huge fuss he's sure to make."_

Looked like the potion was definitely working and the results were hilarious too - she was friends with Severus, but still couldn't wait to see what he said while rhyming. She wrote up the finished instructions for the potion while Fred and George tested it out more, speaking to each other in rhyme and breaking into hysterical laughter every few sentences. They were certainly going to have fun with this product.

* * *

Two weeks later and Fred and George had produced enough of their product to begin selling it in their store. Sirius had been their first customer as promised and had bought such a large batch that anyone who had witnessed it's comical effect on Fred and George, which was most of the Order, were in fear, though still amused.

However, once everyone had witnessed Snape's temper the day after he was slipped the potion, they dared not mention it again for fear that his dangerous black eyes would turn on them and they'd be Avada'd to kingdom come. Snape followed Moody's example and drank from a hip flask after that incident. Sirius didn't stop laughing for a week.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; elfsquire90, ladygoddess8 and Readerforlife. **

**If you are wondering about the ingredients Hermione uses in the potion, I am unsure as to their uses and just found names from the different potions in the Harry Potter universe. Sorry about the rhymes being rather unoriginal but I am useless at making stuff like that up. Also, apologies to those who wanted to hear Snape rhyme, but like I said, I have no originality with rhyme so you will have to make it up yourselves I'm afraid.**

**The next chapter should be up in a few days: get ready as Hermione finally tries learning to fly.**


	41. Flying

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter, I love it because it gave me plenty of scope for some humour.**

**A big thank you to ladygoddess8. Whose reference to the wicked witch from Wizard of Oz in her review of last chapter gave me a great idea for the end of this chapter. Keep an eye out for the reference.**

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**Flying **

To everyone's surprise it was actually Ron who suggested that it might be prudent for Hermione to learn how to fly. She was not at all enthusiastic about the idea, having hated the flying since the first time she got on a broomstick at 11 years old. However, everyone else deemed it a good idea for her to learn, reminding her that she didn't have to become a world class quidditch player, she just needed to be able to escape on a broom if necessary without falling off.

Harry and Charlie were the best fliers and they offered to help her, along with Ginny, Ron and Bill as backup. Sirius, Fred and George had come along as 'moral support', though she was pretty sure they just wanted to laugh at her doing one of the few things she didn't excel in.

Sirius had leant her his broom, but not before placing numerous charms on it to protect it and her from any harm. They were starting with basics again since she hadn't been on a broom in almost six years (flying was mandatory only for the first year) and so there she was, standing in the middle of the quidditch pitch at nine in the morning, looking completely moronic as she repeatedly spoke the words "up" in an attempt to get her broom into her hands.

She shot a dark look at the snickering twins as she tried to inject feeling into her tone, smiling a little when she finally got the broom to jump into her hand. Harry gave her an encouraging smile as she swung her leg over and climbed onto the broom filled with trepidation. Ginny, Ron and Bill had already risen in the air and were now racing each other around the pitch while they waited for Hermione to get up in the air.

"Alright Mione," said Charlie in his rough, but calming voice, "just tilt the broom forward a little to get in the air and hover a bit." She did as she was told, gripping the handle of the broom so tightly that her hands went white, tilting the end as gently as possible. She gave a little shriek as she lifted off the ground, moving steadily higher until she reached about ten feet off the ground. While her ascent was nowhere near as bumpy as Neville's first flight had been, she still wasn't completely relaxed, though she breathed a sigh of relief as Bill, Ron and Ginny flew down to her, while Harry and Charlie mounted their own brooms and flew up to join her.

Her grip on the broom slackened as she realised she was relatively still, and Bill flew to her side, giving her an encouraging smile, "you're doing just fine Mione, keep calm and you'll do great." She nodded at him and turned to Harry, who was instructing her on how to do a simple, slow circuit of the field. "Just remember to keep in control of your broom Mione and don't push to go too fast - not that I think you would anyway," he said with a smile.

Charlie, Bill and Harry led her through some circuits of the field at increasing speeds before getting her to do it on her own for a few turns. She couldn't help but grin when she made it round all on her own without panicking and she giggled as she saw Sirius, Fred and George clapping down below.

She lost the content feeling when Harry told her they were going to try a few simple air manoeuvres in case of any attack. She thought she might be sick as she watched Charlie and Bill demonstrate a loop - it might be easy to them, but to a girl who rarely lifted her feet off the ground it was downright petrifying. They reminded her that the broom had plenty of safety charms, but she wasn't overly reassured - it was just a bloody stick of wood to her. When she mentioned that thought out loud they reminded her that wands were also just sticks of wood - it was the magic that made them what they were. She couldn't fault their logic and refrained from reminding her that she could do magic without a wand, knowing them they'd try to make her fly without even a broom.

However, to her utter shock, she managed to properly execute the loop without screaming on her eighteenth try - she'd been sure it would take her at least twenty-five tries. There'd been a bit of a panic when she accidentally stopped while upside down and was unsure that the safety charms would hold. Bill had been the only one who hadn't laughed at the sight of her gripping onto her broom upside down and with eyes tightly shut, but she suspected he was only being nice, that was what boyfriends were for after all.

Once she'd got them all to stop mocking her with a few well placed threats, they moved on to a few slightly more complex routines, demonstrated this time by Harry and Charlie, while Bill, Ron and Ginny parked their brooms in mid air next to her, commentating on the moves and how best she could pull them off. When it came time for her to try, she did so with her head full of multiple opinions and pieces of advice - and promptly ended up accidentally veering towards the ground and having to have Bill freeze her mid-air.

She blushed as red as the trademark Weasley hair once they'd rebalanced and unfrozen her. She didn't even know why they were bothering, she was, and always would be, completely useless on a broom. Nevertheless, after half an hour of work she managed to get through two thirty second drills with passable skill. By that time she was sick to death of flying and informed the others that since she could now fly a broom without falling off, would it be possible for her to go back inside where it was warm, comfy and firmly on the ground?

Harry had chuckled and told her there was one more thing he wanted her to do - practice catching a Quaffle on the broom. At her quizzical look he had explained that it would probably be prudent for her to be able to catch something on a broom, which she could either do with both hands, balancing on her broom, or with one hand to catch and the other to hold the broom. At the mere thought of having to let go of the broom, she decided she'd just have to catch with one hand.

The only problem with that was that her hand-eye coordination was practically zero, while she was a fit, healthy person, her sports talent was confined to running and swimming type activities - she was not a ball game girl. But, as with everything, she applied herself and tried her best, managing to only get hit in the head six times and catching the Quaffle seven times out of twenty. She could see the other were getting a little tired and her suggestion of them finishing her lesson was well received. It was almost dark anyway and by Order rules they'd have to be heading inside in the next twenty minutes.

Harry, Ginny, Ron and Charlie decided to make the most of the last few minutes and once again began to race each other around the pitch, while Hermione sat on her broom, gripping the handle tightly but smiling at their childish antics and talking softly with Bill.

* * *

She was feeling as comfortable on the broom as she was every likely to (which in reality wasn't very comfortable at all), but that all changed when she looked down to see a mischievous Fred and George looking up at her with their wands out and pointing straight at her, huge grins on their faces. "Hey Mione," they said in unison, "we still haven't got you back for that pink hair and tutu incident and we feel that it is our duty as pranksters to exact suitable revenge."

Hermione gulped, it had probably been a bad idea to tease the twins and she was probably going to pay for it now. She didn't see the words of the spell Fred spoke, but she saw the light coming towards her and since being on a broom wasn't her favourite place, she didn't have time to get out of the way. At first she didn't notice anything and thought that the twins had just done something small like change her hair colour. Of course, she remembered a moment later that this was Fred and George and they never did anything by halves.

When the others present began to laugh, she knew something had been done. She knew it was something worse than changed hair colour when Harry, Ron and Ginny almost fell off their brooms laughing. Scowling, which seemed to make them laugh more, she conjured a full length mirror and levitated it so she could see herself. She almost screamed, ready to hex Fred and George to kingdom come.

"Knew I shouldn't have showed them the Wizard of Oz," she muttered as she glowered at her reflection - they'd turned her into the Wicked Witch - green skin, dark hair and full on witch costume (complete with hat). "I am going to kill you two," she shouted down to the twins, "Molly will just have to make do with two less kids." Sirius snorted in amusement and Hermione turned her glare on him - "you better shut it Sirius, don't you remember what the witch said, 'I'll get you, my pretty, and your little **dog** too.' So stop bloody laughing."

Sirius' eyes widened and he stayed quiet, though she could see from his shaking shoulders that he was barely containing his laughter. By now, Harry, Ron and Ginny had landed and were howling with mirth on the ground, while Bill and Charlie circled Hermione, ensuring she didn't fall and trying to behave like the adults they were supposed to be by restraining their laughter.

Hermione sent an evil grin down to Fred and George who, despite the distance, knew exactly what expression it was. She shouted down so they could all hear her, "you watched the whole of the Wizard of Oz didn't you?" she asked, twirling her wand (which she kept with her despite not needing it). "The Wicked Witch had some rather cool helpers," a flick of her hand and a dozen realistic looking flying monkeys, each a little bigger than a large owl, appeared in the air next to her. Fred and George froze.

"George my dear brother, I believe we have overstayed our welcome."

"Fred my good man, I quite agree."

"To the castle then?"

"Double time I think."

As Hermione raised her hands and commanded her flying monkeys to chase Fred and George, the twins leapt to their feet and began sprinting back to the castle, followed by Sirius in his animagus form who evidently believed that he was probably safer in the castle too. As the remaining group looked to Hermione, cackling with glee on her broom and still dressed as a witch, they thought that she would definitely be a good candidate for the Wicked Witch - she was one scary woman.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; Mwhahahaha18, Jim Red Hawk, ladygoddess8 and Readerforlife.**

**If any of you are Sirius fans then check out the one shot I recently put up called 'loved, lost and finally found'.**

**The next chapter should be up in a few days and features a rather worried Hermione - why she's in the state, you will have to wait to find out.**


	42. Panic And Worry

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

**Panic and Worry**

Hermione was down in the dungeons with Severus practicing her occlumency and legilimency. She could now hold her shields under immense pressure and was also able to allow thoughts through to make it look like she wasn't using occlumency, allowing her to hide what she wished to. Her legilimency still needed some work, she was capable of invading a mind, but could only penetrate a fairly weak barrier. Severus had told her she needed to be able to get through strong mental barriers in order to be truly accomplished.

They were interrupted in their work when the floo in Severus' rooms suddenly flared to life and the tall form of Albus Dumbledore unfolded itself from the fireplace. He brushed his royal purple robes off quickly and turned to face them, "ahh Severus … and Miss Granger too, very good. We have a problem I'm afraid and Severus is needed, it is probably prudent that you come too Miss Granger."

Snape nodded and disappeared to get his base potions, while Hermione looked with worried eyes at Dumbledore, "Sir, what's happened, what's wrong?" Dumbledore sighed, "three Order members were on a mission with five aurors from the ministry. They were tipped off about a gathering of a few death eaters and planned to go to see if they could catch them. Unfortunately there were many more than anticipated and our three members are now in the Hospital Wing."

Hermione was panicking now, "who is it Sir, please tell me who's hurt." Dumbledore regarded her with grave eyes, "I'm afraid it is Sirius, Remus and Kingsley, Miss Granger." Hermione staggered a little and Dumbledore had to shoot his hand out to catch her wrist and stop her falling. She was swaying a bit, it couldn't be true, not those three, what would she do without them.

"How bad is it Sir," she asked with trepidation, fearing the answer. Dumbledore gave her a small smile, "they're all alive, unlike some of the poor aurors. But Sirius is in a bit of a worse condition than the other two, from what I heard he was trying to protect everyone, be everywhere at once."

Hermione shook her head sadly, that was so like Sirius. At that moment Severus appeared ready to go and they all went through the floo straight to the Hospital Wing. When they arrived it was only the three injured men and the Hogwarts matron present. Hermione heard Dumbledore tell Snape what he had told her and that no one but them would be entering until the three were stable.

She wasn't really listening, having eyes only for the three motionless figures in the beds in front of her. She felt a little pressure on her shoulder and looked up to see Snape looking down at her, his face impassive. "It'll be ok Hermione, they will survive." She smiled in thanks, knowing how difficult it was for him to refrain from insulting Sirius constantly.

Before doing anything else Dumbledore told them some more about the actual attack. For unknown reasons there had been many more death eaters than expected. It didn't help that some of the most dangerous death eaters were present; Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy and Fenrir Greyback. Hermione was glad Bellatrix had not been present, she knew Sirius would have done something stupid and she couldn't bear to lose him permanently.

Three of the five aurors that had accompanied the Order members on the mission were dead and one was critically injured and in St Mungo's, no one knew whether he would survive. Hermione felt sorry for the last man, he had been driven insane from being placed under the Cruciatus curse so long, just as Neville's parents had. She made sure to remember to mention to any of the others not to talk about it in front of him. She just hoped he didn't discover the man when he visited his parents as the poor auror was now in the permanent spell damage ward with them.

Then it was time to see her own friends. Dumbledore took them to each bed one at a time, explaining the injuries each of the men had. Kingsley had the least damage, some broken ribs that could be easily, though painfully, fixed using skele-grow. He also had various superficial gashes, cuts and bruises but nothing too terrible. She found out that he'd not been in the area with the most dangerous fighting and was glad for it too.

Remus was a little worse, for he had been set upon by the werewolf who had bitten him as a child and who was now in Voldemort's army, Fenrir Greyback, also the werewolf responsible for Bill's attack. Remus had gashes from the werewolf all over and his bloody face wasn't a pretty sight. However Hermione knew from experience helping him after the full moon that it wasn't as bad as it looked and that they were mostly flesh wounds. Still, they would add yet more scars to his already marred body. He also had a dislocated shoulder, but that had been fixed in a trice by Madame Pomfrey and so she could be calm about his wellbeing.

Sirius was another story, she didn't think she'd ever seen him look so pale and had to work hard to stop herself breaking down instantly at the sight of him. There was a lot of blood on him too, not to mention that she knew that internal injuries could well be hiding under there and she was right. He had two broken legs and multiple gashes all over, one which had managed to sever an artery, explaining the amount of blood. The worst two problems were the use of the Cruciatus, which would lead to many unsavoury side effects for a few days and he had also punctured a lung.

Madame Pomfrey slipped past them to tend to Sirius, before addressing Dumbledore, "he needs a blood transfusion Albus or he may well die of blood loss. The problem is that I've checked his blood type and it's incredibly rare." Hearing how much in danger Sirius really was, Hermione knew that she had to help him.

"Let me do it," she said to the startled adults, "I checked my blood type before I went to the veil and it's the same as Sirius'. Plus it was my blood used to bring him back from the veil so it might help more than someone else's would. Please, I want to help him, I won't let him die."

Madame Pomfrey looked a little concerned, "are you sure dear, it could weaken you too and I'm not sure it's safe to let you." But Hermione shook her head vehemently, "I have to do it, please, if he dies then I don't think I could cope." Dumbledore turned to Madame Pomfrey, "Poppy, you should let Miss Granger do this, there will be no lasting side effects, Severus and yourself will be here to help and you know that if he doesn't get a transfusion soon then he runs the risk of death."

Madame Pomfrey just threw her hands up, "why not, it's not like I have much choice in the matter. It seems I am constantly overruled when it comes to incidents concerning You-Know-Who, Harry Potter or any of his friends." She huffed and stalked away into her office, shutting the door a little harder than necessary.

Dumbledore chuckled a little, "I'm afraid you'll have to excuse Poppy, she is often put upon due to those involved in the fight against Voldemort. Still, she will be fine in an hour or so and if you take a bed then Severus can assist you with the transfusion, it's best not to waste any time."

* * *

Ten minutes Hermione was lying on one of the hospital wing beds, trying not to look at the tube her blood was flowing through, she didn't want to feel more woozy than she already was. It surprised her that considering everything the wizarding world could do, they still used muggle methods for taking blood. She guessed that it was for hygiene reasons. She smiled to herself at the thought of what Sirius would say if he saw Snape taking her blood - probably some overreaction about the man trying to kill her or something stupid like that, he just couldn't get over his dislike of Snape.

Once he'd finished taking her blood, Snape reminded her to remain lying down for at least half an hour and to take it easy for the next few hours. They'd needed a lot of blood for the transfusion and she would be rather weak. Snape disappeared to find Madame Pomfrey so they could get the blood transfusion into Sirius and Hermione settled herself back against the pillows of her bed, preparing for a rather boring hour until she could see the three injured men.

Five minutes in and she was already going mad with the boredom, Hermione was the sort of person who hated to be doing nothing, it made her feel useless and she longed for something to occupy her mind, a book, a puzzle, heck she'd even settle for Witch Weekly right then and she absolutely hated gossips magazines. She thought about asking Severus or Poppy if they had anything, but she knew they'd be busy working on Sirius, Kingsley and Remus and she didn't want to disturb them.

Luckily, her knight in shining robes decided to make his appearance in the Hospital Wing, grinning as he spotted her. She smiled as he sat down on the chair next to her and leant over to kiss her. "Hey Bill, what brings you here?" she asked, "I thought you were at work till this evening." He shrugged, "I got off early and came to find my beautiful girlfriend. No one was in the potions lab, but I ran into Dumbledore and he told me what had happened and where you were."

Hermione's smiled dimmed, "yeah, I was so worried when he told me what had happened, Sirius almost died and both Remus and Kingsley will be in the Hospital Wing for a day or two at least. I never like it when we see more evidence of the war - it's like the attack on Hogsmeade or my … my parents." She stuttered on the last word and Bill wrapped an arm round her slim form and gripped her cold hands in his warm ones gently.

"He'll be fine Mione," Bill reassured her, "they all will and Sirius won't die thanks to you. Think about happy things now, you should be celebrating the life that remains and while we miss those who are gone and we'll always remember them, they wouldn't want us to be sad - your parents would want you to be happy Hermione, and to keep working to help Harry defeat Voldemort once and for all."

Hermione smiled weakly at Bill and burrowed under his arm more, "I'm glad you're here Bill, I thought I was going to go crazy from boredom." He laughed, "well I'm afraid I have to go in a minute Mione, need to make my report to Dumbledore." Seeing her face fall, he produced an object from the floor next to him and handed it to her. Her face lit up at the sight of the basket, even more so when she saw what was inside; some of her books, parchment, pen (much easier to use than a quill and ink) and a few bars of Honeydukes chocolate to help recover her strength.

She hugged him tightly, "I love you Bill, thank you for saving me from the terror of having nothing to do." He laughed again, "you are very welcome Mione, but I'm afraid I have to leave you now, I'm late giving my report." She sighed, but leant up to kiss him goodbye before making him promise to come and get her when he was done so they could spend the rest of the evening together.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, Severus came over to Hermione to tell her that she could leave her bed and that all three of her friends were awake and ready to see visitors. She was up off the bed and over to where her friends were lying in five seconds flat, Severus just rolled his eyes and went back to the dungeons.

There was a crowd of people around the three beds; Tonks, who was holding Remus' hand, Arthur, chatting with Kingsley and then Harry, Ron and Ginny laughing with Sirius. Harry jumped up when he saw her, pulling her into him for a hug and twirling her round, "thank you so much Mione, they told us what you did to help Sirius. How are you feeling?" Hermione smiled warmly at her best friend, "I'm fine Harry, Bill brought me some chocolate and I had a lie down for about an hour."

Harry pulled her into another hug before dragging her over to Sirius' bedside. The animagus grinned at her and she returned the smile, though she couldn't help but be worried by his bruised face and pale skin. "I'll be ok Mione," he said to her, seeing the worry in her eyes, "thanks to you of course." She smirked, "well I couldn't let you die could I? Who would I annoy then." He laughed, she did too and suddenly she felt a lot better.

Hermione leant down to kiss Sirius' battered cheek and squeeze his hand gently before heading over to Remus' bed. "Hi Tonks," she said to the anxious young witch, before turning to the man in the bed, "hey Remus, how are you holding up?" The scarred man gave her the weary smile she remembered well, "I'll be fine Mione, it'll take a bit more than Greyback to keep me from these two," he smiled up at Tonks and patted her swelling stomach affectionately.

Hermione grinned at the couple in front of her and left them to yet another conversation on baby names, going over to Kingsley's bed. The dark man was on his own, Arthur having left a minute ago, and he brightened at the prospect of company, "Mione, good to see you, I heard you were the one to help Sirius." She shrugged and nodded modestly, "just some blood - he's got a pretty rare type and with it being my blood that brought him back it seemed sensible that I give him the transfusion. Anyway, it gave me the added bonus of having Bill fuss over me and he's very sweet when he does that."

Kingsley chuckled deeply, "Mione, you might want to be careful what you say, if Sirius hears you talking like that he'll see it as licence to tease you for ages." Hermione's eyes widened and she swore softly before glaring at him, "you better not mention what I said to him Kingsley or so help me even the aurors won't find your body." Another deep chuckle, "don't worry Mione, I'd never invite your wrath - I'm not stupid." He paused for a moment, "looks like there's someone waiting for you," he said with a grin, pointing to the door.

She turned to see Bill leaning against the doorway, a lazy grin on his face. She stood up and with a quick goodbye to Kingsley, she made her way over to Bill, greeting him with a kiss. "Hey, how did your meeting go?" He waved his hand non-committally, it was ok, now come on Mione, I have the rest of the night planned." She raised one eyebrow delicately, "oh really, so what are we doing?"

Bill smiled, "well I figured you needed a relaxing night after all the stress you had today so perhaps a massage, some hot chocolate and a cuddle by the fire." Hermione's eyes lit up, "sounds heavenly, you really do spoil me Bill." He laughed and they set off to the Gryffindor tower common room to drive the evening's panic from her mind.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; elfsquire90, Jim Red Hawk, Beanacre0, Readerforlife and ladygoddess8. **

**Next chapter, in which Hermione learns to be an animagus and experiments with her four forms (remember she has one for each Hogwarts house) will be up in a few days.**


	43. Animagus

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

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**Animagus**

Hermione was very excited, she had been having lessons with Professor McGonagall in order to become an animagus and was finally ready to discover what her forms would be. She went to the lesson with an extra spring in her step, arriving ten minutes early due to her excitement. Technically she should have been in potions for ten more minutes but Severus, in an uncharacteristic show of kindness, had noticed her excitement and let her go early. He'd insisted it was because he didn't want her dropping anything or ruining a potion because she was so keyed up, but anyone who knew her would know it took a lot more than that to make her lose concentration, so she knew it was him being less nasty than normal (one would never use the word 'kind' in relation to Snape).

Luckily, Professor McGonagall was there when she arrived, saving her standing around for a while waiting. She invited Hermione in with an indulgent smile on her face, pleased that her favourite pupil would finally be able to achieve animagus status. She made Hermione go through all her notes first and it was lucky she read fast because the notes were quite extensive and it took her forty-five minutes to get through them. Still, she knew it was necessary to have the information at the forefront of her mind as she got ready to transform.

First she needed to concentrate on her inner magic, speaking the incantation which would reveal her four animagus forms. "Revelio mi animagi magick," she said, trying to concentrate and letting a smile grace her features when she saw the shadowy images of four creatures in front of her. Moving forward to get a closer look, she was able to perceive what her four forms were; there was a lioness, an owl, a large dog and a fox. The fox and dog both had chocolaty brown fur, the Owl had the same colour feathers and the lioness had a magnificent golden coat.

She told Professor McGonagall what she had seen and the woman broke out into a smile, "magnificent Miss Granger. Now if I was to guess I would suspect the lioness corresponds to Gryffindor's bravery and the owl to Ravenclaw's intelligence. The dog is probably a reference to Hufflepuff's loyalty and I'm sure Sirius will be glad to have another canine around. As for the fox, I believe it is a allusion to Slytherin's cunning."

Hermione smiled, "I think I'm just glad my Slytherin form isn't a snake, that would have been horrible. A fox is a form I think I'll enjoy and the dogs can roam all over the place, which I'm sure will be useful. I guess I won't be able to transform into the lioness often, but in a magical fight with no other options, I think it could be helpful. Then the owl means I can cover the skies as well as the ground, a good back-up escape too. I assume that I will remain unregistered for the moment?"

Her transfiguration Professor nodded, "Albus feels that with the current climate in the Ministry, that would be best. We know that You-Know-Who has spies in the Ministry and there is nothing to be gained by his discovering your becoming an animagus. There is also the issue of your form, the Ministry performs a test to see check your form is what you say it is and we are unsure what would happen if they tested you. It could be dangerous to be seen to have such a gift and we don't need any questions asked."

"Of course not," Hermione said, "perhaps I should never reveal it officially. Even when Voldemort is defeated, there will still be those who wish to destroy those who destroyed him and there would be no need to stir things up." McGonagall pursed her lips thoughtfully, "perhaps, we shall see when this blasted war is over, if we live to see it of course." Hermione sighed at the morose topic, "well, let us talk of lighter topics now, do you think I'm ready to make an attempt at transforming yet?"

"I believe so Miss Granger," her mentor told her, "I suggest you begin with an attempt into your fox, dog or owl form, rather than the lioness, it's better to start small." Hermione nodded, "I think the dog first, Sirius has told me a bit about his transformations so I feel I know that one best." A nod of agreement from Minerva and Hermione went to stand in the centre of the room, cleared for her transformation. She meditated for a few moments to clear her mind, before focusing on her inner magic and the dog animagus form, willing herself to transform.

The tingling sensation began and Hermione had to stop herself from gasping as her perspective began to change. She was shrinking and she could feel herself stooping over as her arms became two front legs. One of the strangest things was the sensation of a tail, something she wasn't sure she would ever get used to. She moved towards the mirror Minerva had placed ready for her to see herself, and gave a doggy grin. She could almost be Padfoot's twin, apart from the difference in colouring, her chocolate fur distinguishable from the raven black she knew he possessed - "guess fur colour is related to hair," she thought idly to herself.

Minerva laughed as Hermione the dog - she really needed to think of an animagus name, probably one for each form, maybe she'd ask Bill for help - began acting like, well a dog, chasing her tail and generally having fun exploring her new form. The time to transform back to being human came all too soon, but she knew she had three other forms to try out and they couldn't stay up all night. Focusing again on her magical core, though this time the image was of her human self, she willed herself to be human and the tingling began again as she grew in height and straightened up. A minute later and she was human, grinning broadly at Minerva's light applause.

"Well done Hermione," said McGonagall, "there are few who succeed in their animagus transformation first time round. We'll take a ten minute break for you to get your energy back and then we'll try another form." Hermione nodded and they sat down at the desk, Professor McGonagall conjuring a tray with tea and biscuits on it. Hermione eagerly devoured a few biscuits, wanting to get her energy up for her next transformation. The pair chatted about inconsequential things, steering clear of the topic they knew would depress them both - the war.

"Right then," said Professor McGonagall, waving her wand to clear away the tea tray, "let's begin again."

* * *

An hour later and Hermione had successfully transformed into each of her animagus forms, though it had taken her a bit longer with the huge lioness form. She had explored her form, getting comfortable with what it felt like to be the four different animals. Once she had managed the transformation into each once, she practiced changing back and forth quickly, which she mastered relatively fast.

"Ok Hermione, I think we're done for tonight," Minerva told her, "we'll have a few more sessions to make sure you've got it down to pat, but with the basics mastered you should be fine to practice on your own. However, I recommend that you transform around at least one other person you know for the first month or so, just in case you get into trouble." Hermione nodded, "sure, it's not like I'm allowed to be alone for more than two minutes anyway," she said with a little resentment, but an expression showing she understood why the precautions were there.

She left the classroom after a few minutes conversation with Minerva over a transfiguration theory she had been looking at, determined to find Bill so she could show him her new forms. By her estimations, he should be done with work and in his quarters, she certainly hoped so because she didn't fancy trekking all over the castle, even if she would do it to find him. Luckily, when she arrived at the door and knocked, Bill was there and happy to see her.

"Hey Mione, I thought you had training with McGonagall this evening." She grinned, "we're done now … and guess who now has four new animagus forms to have fun with?" His face brightened, "really Mione," he picked her up in a hug and spun her round gently, "that's so great. Will you show me?" She nodded eagerly, "of course Bill, I wanted to ask your help in giving each form a name, like Sirius has with Padfoot and Harry's dad with Prongs." She grabbed his arm and dragged him back into the sitting room area of his quarters, "come on, no time like the present."

He laughed and dropped down on the sofa to watch Hermione as she transformed into her fox form, watching as she slunk around, before jumping onto his lap. "Hmmm, very cool form Mione - Slytherin cunning I presume." The fox inclined her head and Bill smiled, "I think I have the perfect name then - Mischief." The fox hopped off his lap and suddenly became human again. Hermione dropped down next to him and kissed him gently, "Mischief - I like it, matches the whole Slytherin cunning mixed with the playfulness of a tame fox."

Bill smiled, "glad you approve of my choice, now lets get the rest of these forms named." They did just that and fifteen minutes later Hermione's owl form had been christened Smarts and her lioness form was named Sekhmet after the warrior goddess of Upper Egypt. Bill had been perfectly fine with Hermione's request that Sirius, having a the same animagus himself, help her name her dog form and she was glad that her boyfriend didn't mind her spending time with Sirius.

Hermione sighed, "it's ten already, I better leave if I want to speak to Sirius before I go to bed, it's almost a fifteen minute walk." Bill pouted playfully, but let her go after a long kiss, "I'll see you tomorrow then Mione," he said with a smile. "Sure, can't wait Bill."

* * *

"Cool names Mione," Sirius told her, after hearing what she and Bill had come up with for her three forms, "they all suit you, mischievous, a fighter and smart." Hermione laughed, "well they are supposed to reflect my personality, but what I'm really here for is to ask you if you'll help me come up with a name for my final form. It's just like yours." She grinned as he did, "really, you've got a dog form too. We're going to have so much fun Mione, I'll teach you all about what its like to be such a magnificent animal. Will you please show me your form, it'll help in deciding the name?"

Hermione obliged, shifting to her canine form and giving a laughing bark as Sirius did the same. The two dogs sniffed around each other, getting used to the foreign scents, before they began chasing each other round Sirius' quarters. Hermione was having a lot of fun, there was something freeing about being in animal form - her mind was emptied of all complicated things and she could just have fun.

When they transformed back, Hermione was giggling and Sirius chuckling at the antics of their ten minutes in canine form. Sirius grinned at her, "I think I have your name. After a little thought I think we can pick either Leona, the female version of an abbreviation of the constellation Leo for your Gryffindor origins or Spica, the brightest star in the Virgo (maiden) constellation. Which do you prefer?"

Hermione laughed, "while both have good reasons behind them, I don't think I could stand being called Spica, so Leona it is." Sirius smiled, "going for the Gryffindor name, I like it - very good choice. Now come on, let's get you back to Gryffindor Tower before Harry and the others start wandering all over the castle looking for you." Hermione nodded and the pair left to walk to the tower, chattering away the whole time about constellations and their meanings, as well as the Black family's interesting tradition of naming all their children after the constellations and stars.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; ladygoddess8 and Readerforlife.**

**Next chapter, which should be up in a few days, features Hermione and Snape coming up with an idea that could save a lot of lives in the war.**


	44. Felix Felicis

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

**Thanks to ladygoddess8 for some very cool suggestions of potions names. Unfortunately, I didn't think it realistic that they'd have the time to invent a new potion so I just went with one that already existed in the Harry Potter universe.**

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**Felix Felicis**

"I am such a complete idiot." Severus chuckled darkly, "I doubt that Hermione, you are anything but an idiot. Insufferable know it all perhaps but that is beside the point." She glared playfully at him, "well I'm seriously questioning my intelligence, I can't believe I didn't think of it before hand." Severus scowled, "it would help with my assessment of the situation if you could tell me what the devil you're going on about."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "two words Severus - Felix Felicis." He sucked in his breath, "of course, why didn't we think of that." He was talking to himself now, as he was prone to when he got an idea in his head, "… Dark Lord would never think of it, even if he did I could put something undetectable in it to stop it working … expensive ingredients … long brewing time."

"Severus," she said, narrowing her eyes when he continued to mutter ingredients under his breath, "Severus," a little louder this time. He looked up, startled, and she gave a condescending smile, "back in the land of the living are we Severus?" He just shot her a glare, "this is doable Hermione," he said, "but we would definitely be limited on how much we make if we go by Albus' estimation of the time till the final battle."

Hermione nodded sadly, "we'll never make enough for everyone, but anything is better than nothing, especially if we can get it to the important players like Harry. You'll need some of course," she mused, "Draco and Blaise too since they'll be seen as traitors." Severus shook his head, "I don't think I'll ever get used to you calling those two by their first names. And what's this about me needing some, I've been fine for seventeen years of spy work, I don't need some potion, you should have some."

Hermione shook her head, "no Severus, I'm on the capture, not kill, list and so there is no point wasting the potion on me." She cut him off before he could voice his objections, musing to herself how weird this conversation would have been two years ago, "I know they'll complain when we tell them and it's likely that Sirius at least will assume that you have something to do with it, but I'll explain it to them." Severus shrugged, "on your own head be it Hermione." She smiled, that was one thing she liked about Severus, Draco and Blaise too - Slytherins would worry a bit about their own but, unlike Gryffindors, they were not hasty and saw the reason behind the risk.

Severus pulled out a piece of parchment and passed another to Hermione along with a quill, "come on then, let's get all the necessary information on Felix Felicis down, along with stats. Then we can get Dumbledore to get everyone together so we can tell them the news." Hermione nodded and her quill began to move feverishly across the page, there was a reason to work fast - new hope had been found that could reduce the predicted death toll and Hermione couldn't be happier.

* * *

"Now we can only make enough for six doses, each dose giving two hours of luck," Hermione told the Order members as they all sat in the meeting. "Since Severus and I will be the ones brewing it I have decided on who should get it and Severus reluctantly agrees." She made sure to stress the reluctant part, "I want no complaining about how much you are assigned or if someone gets more than you, if they do then it's because they need it."

Hermione waited until the room had nodded their consent and continued, "the first two hour dose will be for Harry of course, no matter who needs to defeat Voldemort the prophesy is known and he is the one Voldemort will try and kill." Harry nodded and no one made any complaints, they knew he would need the luck.

"So you'll be having the second dose then Mione," said Ron confidently. Hermione sighed and braced herself for their reactions, "no, I won't." Everyone protested and Sirius started to shout at Snape, "Snivellus you slimy git, you wanted it all for yourself didn't you."

Hermione shot him a glare and amplified her voice to be heard over the protests, "Severus had nothing to do with this Sirius," she stared pointedly at him, "in fact he was insistent I have some but I refused. Voldemort does not wish to kill me, just capture me. He is interested in my powers and wishes me to join his side, which of course I shall never do. But you don't need to worry about me getting killed."

Everyone looked at her, pleading her to change her mind, but they knew it was pointless and deep down she was right. Hermione took the silence as confirmation of their assent and spoke again. "The second dose will be for Severus." She cut Sirius off before he could even speak, "no Sirius he did not ask for it, I forced it on him since he was adamantly refusing. He is a spy and some time in the battle it is likely his loyalties will be revealed, this will put him in even more danger than the rest of us. We all know Voldemort doesn't tolerate traitors."

Dumbledore nodded approvingly and waved a hand to urge her to resume, "it is because of this view of traitors that the third and fourth doses will be for Draco and Blaise since I know Narcissa and Maria won't be in the battle seeing as they will be going into hiding and therefore won't need any." The two Slytherins looked almost touched by her gesture and both even gave her a small smile. Harry, Ron and the twins didn't look happy, but it was the right thing to do.

"Finally," she said, gathering the attention of the room once more, "the final two doses of two hours each shall be split into twelve each, allowing twenty-four members to have a ten minute run of luck each." She looked a little sad, "I'm afraid we cannot offer it to the backup Order since there is so little potion and too many of them. I would appreciate it if no one informed them of what we all have as it would hardly boost morale." Everyone agreed, though they had depressed faces at the thought of losses which could occur without the lucky potion.

"Right then, those who don't have a dose are as follows: Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hagrid, Remus, Tonks, Sirius, Kingsley, Mad-Eye, Molly, Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Neville, Luna and myself. That's nineteen so we have five ten minute doses spare. I suggest we give Ginny, Neville, Luna and Ron an extra ten minutes each since they're the youngest. Then the twins can have an extra five minutes each, after all every minute can count in the war."

The others could only nod and Snape shook his head, she was behaving so maturely, not unusual for her but strange coming from a girl of only eighteen. Everyone else was both worried, proud and shocked at the fact that she refused any more than the minimum ten minute sip for herself, after all she was supposed to be key. But what she said had truth and Hermione would stick by it.

"Well if there are no objections I believe we owe Miss Granger and Severus a thank you," said the headmaster warmly and she blushed while Severus scowled at the applause. As soon as the meeting was over, the surly potions master swept out of the room, robes flapping around him, in an attempt to escape unwanted thanks from the older members of the Order polite enough to offer it.

Hermione was surrounded by all the younger crowd with thanks, worries for her own safety and more thanks. When she finally escaped from the twins, who seemed intent on literally handing her round to each person for a hug, she managed to slip out of the room and find Bill leaning against a wall, waiting for her with a lazy grin on his face. "You're little miss popularity aren't you Mione," he said to her, pushing himself off the wall to give her a hug, then leaning down to kiss her gently.

She shrugged modestly, "it isn't like we invented the potion, just used our brains to figure out how useful it could be in battle. I'm surprised Voldemort's side haven't thought of it, he is supposed to be intelligent. Then again, about 90% of the death eaters have next to no brains and obviously Severus wouldn't go suggesting it. I just wish we could get some to everyone, but there really is no time to make so much, I feel so guilty not telling the back-up Order about it."

Bill rubbed her back in a calming gesture, "oh Mione, you've got a big heart but you can't help everyone. This is war and there will inevitably be losses, but your idea means that they will probably be lower - Hermione, you have undoubtedly saved lives with this and you should be relieved, it's a great achievement." She smiled at his words, which did their job and immediately made her feel a whole lot better. Bill was right, reality was tough and she wouldn't ever be able to save everybody - though she would damn well try to save as many innocent people as she could.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; ladygoddess8, Readerforlife and HSCswimmer.**

**We are never given the ingredients to Felix Felicis, but we are told it is notoriously tricky to brew and must stew for six months before consumption. I am using artistic licence and making the ingredients expensive. They can only make a certain amount because there is only time for one batch and it is too difficult to be made in an industrial way. Whatever reason you want, just know that they can't get any more than Hermione and Severus told the Order.**

**The next chapter should be up in a few days. For all those who have been waiting, it will show Blaise and Luna finally getting together, so keep an eye out.**


	45. Matchmaking Blaise And Luna

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter and sorry it's a bit late, I had a lot going on.**

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**Matchmaking Blaise And Luna**

Hermione had been one of the least surprised when Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini and their mothers turned up at Hogwarts to ask Dumbledore for his protection. Many of the others (Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George mostly) had ranted and raged, insisting that the Slytherins couldn't change their ways and that they were obviously spies for Voldemort.

It was Hermione who had announced that she had helped Snape with the subtle administration of veritaserum into the coffee that the two Malfoys and two Zabinis were drinking and that the fact that they were still insisting they wanted and needed help proved that they were sincere. She'd even gone so far as to shake all their hands, but none of them had missed the look in her eyes which told them that if they even tried to mess with her then she would make their lives living hell - everyone had seen that look ring true enough to take suitable notice.

She didn't exactly avoid Malfoy or his mother, but she didn't often seek out their company for there was a lot of bad blood there, especially with Malfoy and his previous Mudblood comments, though he gradually seemed to be improving, genuinely interested in making a new start.

She worked with Blaise more, they were the only ones to continue on with potions and he was a helpful research partner as well as a challenging duelling one. His mother, Maria, was a typically maternal Italian woman, though overwhelmingly beautiful, and Hermione correctly assumed that she'd never been the one who wanted involvement in Voldemort's plans - that title had belonged to her power hungry husband, now dead by Voldemort's hand after he failed a mission.

Blaise didn't talk much about his family, excepting his mother of course. His father had been Celso Zabini, the only decent one of Maria's husbands, had been her one true love, the reason she always kept his surname despite how many times she had remarried. Blaise had told Hermione that his father had been the only one of his mother's husbands to die a natural death, though many would see a twenty-eight year old man dying of a heart attack unusual. From then on his mother had married old, rich men, who had all died rather quickly. Hermione knew there were rumours of foul play, but she knew Maria could never be involved.

Yes, Hermione liked the Zabini family and therefore she was determined to do the one thing she knew would make Blaise, and in turn Maria Zabini, very happy - finally get Luna to go out with him.

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Hermione knew Blaise liked Luna an awful lot, but he was a Slytherin, a quiet one at that. He also had a lot of pride, despite the fact that he was great once you got to know him. He wouldn't ask Luna out for fear of rejection and Hermione knew the blonde girl was probably the same way. Hermione would have to be sure both were sure of what they wanted - Blaise was the sort of guy to only ask once and then never do so again if refused because of pride, Hermione wanted to be sure Luna wouldn't lose the opportunity.

She had considered so many options and as time wore on and the pair never began dating she even considered asking the twins for help, though she shot that idea down pretty fast. It was completely ridiculous, Blaise and Luna spent practically all their free time together anyway, so why couldn't they just make it official. If Blaise was willing to deal with Luna's fascination with creatures Hermione was unsure actually existed and Luna was willing to put up with Blaise's occasional sullen silences, then they were obviously perfect for each other.

But anyway, any plan to get the two together would have to be well thought out and subtle - Blaise was an shrewd Slytherin and Luna an intelligent Ravenclaw, they would see through an obvious plan in a second. Which was why Ron wouldn't be helping with the planning, in fact he hadn't even been informed because he was liable to spill things that were supposed to remain secret at the worst possible moments. In the end it had come down to Hermione and Draco trying to mastermind the whole plan, with occasional assistance from Harry and Ginny. Draco hadn't been too impressed about working with three Gryffindors, but he wanted to help Blaise and there were no other Slytherins around to help except Snape - who they obviously weren't going to approach for help in matters of romance.

Of course despite the high intelligence working to get Blaise and Luna together, they had yet to actually manage it and were becoming a little despondent. Harry had suggested just locking them in a closet together, but that had been quickly shot down by a sneering Draco who stated that he would have expected a simple idea from a simple mind. It had taken twenty minutes for Hermione and Ginny to stop the two boys fighting and they'd given up their matchmaking schemes for a little while, afraid of more arguments.

The next idea had come from Draco and, with him being a Malfoy, he thought it was the most perfect plan ever. A compulsion potion which would force the two to act on hidden desires of the romantic variety. Draco had been most annoyed when they'd disagreed with his idea, giving a petulant pout. The Gryffindors hadn't been pleased with the idea of taking choice away from Blaise and Luna, not to mention the underlying worry that there could be another romantic attachment from one of them that could fool the potion and which would ruin any chance of a relationship between the pair.

A week later Ginny, ever the ardent romantic, had come up with a plan the red head was sure would work. They would send a note to Blaise in Luna's handwriting and one to Luna in Blaise's writing, asking them to meet the other in the room of requirement. When the pair arrived they would find a romantic evening set up by Ginny, Harry, Hermione and Draco, which they would sit down and enjoy despite not knowing why they were there, so as not to waste the effort that had gone into it. During the course of the evening the romance would get to them, they would confess their feelings and everything would be great.

Draco had scoffed at the last part and had ripped Ginny's plan apart in less than a minute, probably in revenge for his own plan being refused. He'd said that neither Blaise nor Luna were typical teenagers and were unlikely to find candlelit dinners particularly appealing. Blaise preferred quiet peace and Luna liked walking outdoors looking for more of her strange, unproved creatures. Ginny had scowled at Draco's derision and Hermione knew she'd like nothing better than to unleash her bat-bogey hex on him. However, even Ginny had to admit that Draco had a point.

In the end it came down to a plan of Hermione's. She was the only one who had yet to come up with something and when she finally shared her idea, the others were feeling rather stupid since it was simple, yet perfect for Blaise and Luna. Hermione simply suggested that they talk to the pair. Draco could have a word with Blaise, while Hermione and Ginny tackled Luna. Harry felt a little left out but knew he probably wouldn't be any good speaking to Luna or Blaise about romance. If they could put Blaise and Luna's fears to rest then the obstacles stopping them dating would disappear and there would be one more happy couple in the world.

* * *

The plan commenced the very next day as it needed no planning and those involved wanted Blaise and Luna to get together as soon as possible. They had the morning off before an afternoon of lessons, so when breakfast was over, Draco gave a nod to Hermione and Ginny and they went to phase one - getting Blaise alone with Draco and Luna alone with Hermione and Ginny. It looked like Luna was going to wander over to Blaise to chat, an action that had become increasingly common. However, this morning Hermione grabbed one of the Ravenclaw's arms and Ginny got the other. "Come on Luna, we've haven't had a girly chat in ages, we've got some free time now so let's get going to the room of requirement." They saw Luna give Blaise an apologetic smile and grinned, those two so wanted each other.

On the other end of the long table, Draco sauntered up to Blaise, who was looking a little disappointed that Luna had been whisked away by the two girls. "Hey Blaise, fancy some duelling practice, we haven't had any chances lately." He left the words "because you're always with Lovegood," unspoken, but being an intelligent Slytherin, Blaise knew what he was saying. The dark boy shrugged, "sure, why not," and the pair were off to find an empty classroom to practice in.

While the two boys duelled and Draco tried to think of a way to ask Blaise about Luna, the three girls were comfortably installed in comfy armchairs by a roaring fire in the room of requirement. They chatted about inane things to begin with; training, Hermione's relationship with Bill and Ginny's with Harry, before Hermione and Ginny started to chat innocuously about the Slytherins, honing in on Blaise after a little while and smiling slightly as they saw Luna's cheeks tinge pink.

Soon enough, Hermione, Ginny and Draco all started questioning Luna and Blaise about the other, getting steadily less subtle every minute; "you know Luna, everyone seems to be getting paired off at the moment, I wonder who'll be next?"

"Blaise mate, you ever think about getting a girlfriend, I think there's one girl in particular who likes you."

"You know Luna, I think there's a certain quiet Slytherin who really likes you."

"You know Blaise, if you wanted to ask Lovegood out, I wouldn't mind and I doubt she'd say no."

"Blaise is a really nice guy Luna, the two of you are really good together."

"Lovegood's ok, for one of Potter's bunch of friends at least. Thank Merlin she's a Ravenclaw, I don't think I could stand you with a Gryffindor."

"For Merlin's sake, can you just ask each other out already!!"

Two very different laughs rang out at the same moment, deep and rich from Blaise and like bells chiming from Luna. Then, even though they were on opposite sides of the castle, they spoke in unison (yet more proof of their compatibility), "you've been spending so much time the past few weeks trying to get us together that you never noticed what was right under your noses. We've been dating a week already." They burst into laughter again as their friends went red and gave sheepish smiles.

Needless to say, Hermione, Ginny, Draco and Harry didn't try matchmaking again for a while.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; ladygoddess8, Readerforlife and Jim Red Hawk.**

**Next chapter, in which the Order try to work out what the unknown horcrux is, will be up in a few days. The chapter after that will see the beginnings of more action and an attempt at capturing Hermione. Will it work - well, you'll just have to wait two chapters to see.**


	46. Rowena Ravenclaw's Heirloom

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

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**Rowena Ravenclaw's Heirloom**

Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny were sitting in the common room, empty save themselves, wracking their brains for possible horcruxes. They'd got the diary, ring, locket and cup and they knew that there were six plus the part of the soul still residing in Voldemort's body. That meant there were two left to be destroyed before they could attempt to kill Voldemort. They knew Nagini was a horcrux and that it was likely they would have to wait until the final battle to kill her.

They also knew they had something of Slytherin's and Hufflepuff's. Gryffindor's heirlooms were all safe and that left Ravenclaw. The problem was that very little information remained concerning Rowena Ravenclaw's possessions. Hermione had found a small section on it in an old book, but there were many choices.

_**Rowena Ravenclaw (961 AD-1008 AD), one of the four founders of Hogwarts and founder of Ravenclaw house was born in Scotland and widely renowned for her intelligence and creativity. She is known to have devised the moving staircases in Hogwarts castle, along with the riddle that gives access to the Ravenclaw common room in place of a password.**_

_**Ravenclaw had many heirlooms left to her descendants after an early death, said to be caused by a broken heart. These heirlooms include her compass (said to point to that which the user desires most, though only if they have pure intentions), her sapphire necklace (gives the wearer the gift of witty, engaging conversation when worn) and Ravenclaw's Diadem (increases the intelligence of the wearer).**_

They'd gone through countless records before a brainstorm finally hit Ginny, "how could we be so stupid," she said, hitting her head with her hand, "Luna is a Ravenclaw, if anyone will know about Ravenclaw's heirlooms then it'll be her." Hermione mentally smacked herself when Ginny spoke, how could they have all missed that. People often forgot that Luna was a Ravenclaw, her intelligence and incredibly perceptive nature were often hidden by her eccentricities and you often missed the great advice she gave hidden in riddles or spoken plainly and without elaboration.

"Well come on then," Hermione said, dragging a reluctant Ron to his feet and glaring at him when he moaned about having to walk "all the way to the other bloody side of the castle," to find Luna, who had told them she'd be hunting Nargles over there with Blaise that day. Hermione scowled, "honestly Ronald, you should be used to exercise with all that quidditch you do, now get moving."

Ron looked like he wanted to start moaning again, but he didn't want to risk Hermione's wrath and so he stayed almost completely silent during their walk to find Luna, only making a couple of comments about lessons and mentioning nothing about being tired. Hermione chatted quietly with Harry and Ginny about animagus transformations, which the two were still working on perfecting. Ron joined in as they discussed what forms they could take and they all concluded Harry was likely to be a stag, while Ginny would probably be some sort of bird considering her love of flying. They were unsure about Ron, but the conversation was steered in another direction after Ginny jokingly suggested a sloth and Ron looked ready to smack his sister.

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They found Luna skipping about one of the corridors with Blaise, who was looking at her with an expression of love one rarely, if ever, saw on a Slytherin's face. He even seemed oblivious to how ridiculous he, a tall, muscled boy, looked searching for invisible creatures and following the ethereal blonde witch round. Then again, Hermione doubted he would have cared anyway, it was plain how much Luna meant to him and Hermione was truly happy for the pair, though she still hadn't forgiven them for letting Ginny, Harry, Draco and herself plot and plan to get them together when they were already dating.

Luna was only to happy to explain what she knew about Rowena Ravenclaw, giving insight about the witch not found in many books, such as how the witch had died relatively young of a broken heart. Luna knew a lot about the three artefacts mentioned and was able to cross one of them off the list of possible horcruxes; the compass was owned by one of Ravenclaw's descendants, a friend of Luna's father. Luna had seen the compass and with the gift she possessed of seeing auras, knew that it wasn't tainted by any sort of dark magic.

Luna also told them that the necklace was rumoured to have been placed in the room of hidden things, which they all knew as the room of requirement. This was very convenient as it meant they could go and check without leaving the safety of the castle. Luna apologised and said she was sorry but she wouldn't be going with them as it was prime season for Nargles, but she directed them to a book with a diagram of the necklace in. They thanked her and left as she and Blaise went back to their Nargle hunting.

Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny went immediately to Professor Dumbledore to tell him what they had discovered. He was delighted with the progress and gave them permission to search for the compass, though he insisted that at least two adults go with them - they all still remembered the disaster that had come about after Harry had tried to tackle Hufflepuff's cup on his own. Neither Kingsley or Remus were working or on a mission that day and they were quickly employed to help the four teenagers scour the room in search of the necklace.

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"Merlin, this is going to take us hours," moaned Ron with a pained look on his face as they looked round the room of requirement, which resembled a huge room almost as big as the great hall, with shelves full of lost and forgotten things running down the length of it. Harry nodded in agreement with Ron, Ginny rolled her eyes at what she perceived to be her brother's whimpiness, while Kingsley and Remus wished they'd hadn't agreed to help. Hermione gave a cheery, rather fake smile, "come on, if we all work together and with a system I'm sure it won't take too long to finish looking."

Harry gave her a sceptical look and Ron scowled, "why couldn't the horcrux just be Voldemort's 'blankie' or something, it's less likely to kill us and we could just get Snape to swipe it instead of searching for hours in a massive, dusty room." The statement had the desired effect of lightening the atmosphere and they all burst into laughter. Once the hysterics were over they split into pairs to search the room, Harry and Ginny, Ron and Kingsley and Hermione with Remus. Hermione sighed, she could only hope Harry and Ginny got more searching that kissing done.

She was glad to have been paired with Remus, he was efficient and good at searching. So was Kingsley, but he was also good at keeping Ron in line and making him focus, mostly because the red head was in awe of his auror status and magical power. Remus and Hermione moved quickly and relatively quietly through their assigned area, stopping occasionally to admire or exclaim at some of the rarer or wackier items they found. There appeared to be a lot of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products around and Hermione had no doubt that Ron would be trying to sneak a few into his pockets without Kingsley noticing.

"Have you seen some of this stuff," Hermione remarked to Remus as they walked along, fingering a sparkling ring in one hand and a pair of raw silk robes in the other, "why do people hide such valuable things here. To be honest, I don't know why you'd need to hide things like robes, but never mind, I have to remain focused." Remus chuckled, he knew what she felt like, it seemed like such a waste considering 90% of the objects in the room would probably never be reclaimed. When the war was over he was going to have a serious talk with Dumbledore about doing something with this room - some of the things were worth thousands, maybe millions and they shouldn't just sit gathering dust.

They meandered up the rows of objects, becoming steadily more bored until they heard a triumphant cry that sounded like Ginny. Hermione grabbed Remus and dragged him to where she could hear Ginny talking jubilantly to Harry. Turning the corner and almost running into Kingsley and Ron, who had come from the opposite side of the room, Hermione was delighted to see Ginny holding a sapphire necklace. She walked over to her friend and pulled the picture she'd magically copied from the book Luna had mentioned onto a piece of parchment. Comparing the two necklaces, she nodded her head, "that's it, Ravenclaw's necklace - here all along."

Ginny handed it to Harry, who frowned as he felt it, "it doesn't feel … evil. When I was around the others they made me feel cold and angry, this necklace doesn't do that." Hermione shrugged, "it may not be a horcrux, we can't be sure." Ron gave a grunt of annoyance, "then why did we look for the bloody thing for over an hour?" Hermione took a breath, "because we had to be sure Ronald, anyway it is an heirloom of Rowena Ravenclaw's and I'm sure Dumbledore wouldn't mind having it in the school, it could go with Gryffindor's sword."

Harry nodded resolutely, "come on then, we'll take this to Dumbledore's office and either find a home for it or destroy it as soon as possible - whichever one is needed." They followed the dark haired, emerald eyed boy, who was holding the necklace rather gingerly, out of the room and both Hermione and Ginny sighed as the door closed on the treasures that lay within. They made their way quickly to Dumbledore's office, finding both Minerva McGonagall and Snape there. The three were amazed by the find and Dumbledore informed them that the necklace was not a horcrux and would therefore be placed with Gryffindor's sword for safe keeping.

They were a little disappointed that they hadn't managed to find the horcrux, but at least they now knew what it was - Ravenclaw's diadem - even if they didn't know where it was. They had managed to find an heirloom from one of the four founders and that in itself deserved celebration. Ron made his way to the kitchens when they left Dumbledore's office, mumbling about the appetite he had worked up with all the searching. Harry and Ginny followed, admitting their hunger, but still shaking their heads at Ron's seemingly insatiable stomach.

Remus and Kingsley had remained in Dumbledore's office to discuss some Order business and Hermione had declined the suggestion from Harry, Ron and Ginny to go down to the kitchens, so she was left alone. Knowing that Bill would not be back at the castle till the next day (he had an overnight mission) Hermione thought it would be a good time to do some more research. It didn't matter to her that she had just spent hours researching and searching for Ravenclaw's heirlooms, she was one of the few who enjoyed research.

Five minutes later and she was settled at a table in the library, surrounded by books, parchment and quills. Silence reigned supreme and Hermione gave a contented sigh - she really did love reading.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; TsukiyoTenshi, Cristal90, Readerforlife and ladygoddess8. **

**The next chapter, in which the dark side attempt to capture Hermione, will be up in a few days, so keep your eyes open.**


	47. A Possible Lead Evolves Into A Fight

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

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**A Possible Lead Evolves Into A Fight**

It all started out as a pretty good day, they'd discovered a possible lead for the diadem of Ravenclaw and a large group of them had gone to check it out. The location was a magical henge visible only to wizards and witches, pulsing with magic and a place perfect for hiding a strong magical object.

Hermione, Harry, Ron, Draco and Blaise had all been allowed to go along, with the supervision of Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Kingsley and Mad-Eye Moody. The boys had moaned about the number of adults they had to take along, saying that the Order obviously didn't trust them. Hermione had mentioned that it was probably a good thing because they could search the area quicker, plus it was better to be safe rather than sorry when dealing with Voldemort and the death eaters. She'd gotten dark glares from all four after she'd spoken and had wisely remained quiet after that.

It had only taken a well placed reminder of the Hufflepuff cup disaster to get Harry and Ron to agree that adult supervision was needed. Draco and Blaise were a little harder to convince, but they had agreed to do it the Order's way after they were told that if they were so bothered they could remain at Hogwarts. No way were they going to miss one of the few missions they were allowed on.

They all assembled on the grounds and after a safety briefing from Remus and Kingsley, the customary "Constant Vigilance" from Moody and Tonks tripping over her own feet half a dozen times they were finally ready to leave. Only the adults knew where they were actually going and so each one took one of the teenagers by side-along apparition and Hermione had to laugh when she saw Draco's widened eyes when he was paired with Moody for apparition. She guessed he still hadn't forgotten the 'ferret incident', though that had never been the real Moody.

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The moment they arrived at the henge, Hermione could feel the magic surrounding the area and she loved it. There weren't many places where you could feel the raw magic and the henge was one of them. The huge stones towered over them all and the view was amazing. She knew that this was where wizards and witches had completed magical rituals thousands of years ago, though now it was more a tourist attraction.

Once they all got over their awe of the place, they began to search for the diadem. They also had to be careful not to mention anything pertaining to horcruxes because Draco and Blaise weren't aware of the full story about horcruxes. They only knew the item the Order was searching for and that they had to be careful as it was full of dark magic. The group spent hours searching, using countless different revealing spells and with their hope of finding the diadem fading each hour, but had to come to the conclusion that it was not there.

Just as they were about the leave there were half a dozen cracks signalling apparition into the henge and the group found themselves surrounded by Voldemort himself as well as five of his strongest death eaters; Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov and Avery. To say they were screwed was an understatement, especially since they could feel the magic of the anti-apparition wards.

Lucius sneered when he saw his son, "what has become of you Draco, associating with blood traitors, mudbloods and half-breeds." Draco looked his father coldly in the eye, "it's called having a conscience father, you know, being a good person. Plus, you can't call Hermione a mudblood anymore, remember."

Lucius looked about to respond angrily when Voldemort raised his hand and he fell silent. Voldemort surveyed the group before him, "what a motley bunch you are, I shall ignore the two traitors for now," he waved his hand at Draco and Blaise, "they will be dealt with later on."

His eyes swept over Remus, Kingsley, Ron and Mad-Eye with comments about blood traitors, half-breeds and Order scum. Then his gaze landed on Sirius and Tonks and he turned to Bellatrix, "your cousin and niece I believe." Bellatrix nodded and sneered, "though they are no family of mine, filthy blood traitors." Voldemort's gaze turned back to Sirius, "I thought Bella dealt with you and sent you flying into that veil." Sirius smirked at him, "she tried, but it isn't too easy to get rid of me."

Voldemort merely turned away to see Harry, "ahh the Boy who lived, though not for much longer, I'd wager. I would kill you here but now is not the time, we are here for someone else," he turned to look at Hermione, whose eyes narrowed at him.

Harry spoke coldly, "she's not going anywhere with you Voldemort, remember we outnumber you." Voldemort gave a short laugh, "you may have a few more numbers but I have more skill in my little finger than you do in your entire body Harry Potter."

He nodded to his death eaters, "get the girl, don't kill any of them yet, it is not the right time. But you should feel free to do some damage, I know how much you all want revenge."

Voldemort and his death eaters pulled out their wands and the Order responded by hurriedly moving into duelling positions. The separate battles began at once; Kingsley, Mad-Eye and Tonks faced off to Voldemort, Sirius gave a mock bow to Bellatrix and Draco faced his father with a look of loathing on his pale face. Remus and Blaise turned to Rodolphus and that left the Golden Trio with Dolohov and Avery.

The battles began in earnest at the same moment, wands slashing and lights flashing dangerously. Ron and Harry hovered protectively round Hermione to begin with, until they were drawn into a dangerous fight with Avery. Hermione turned to confront Dolohov with a look of hate, "you," she spat, "you're the one that almost killed me in the department of mysteries."

Dolohov grinned, "that's me little girl, suppose it's a good thing I didn't kill you then. But you are no match for me, even now." Hermione's eyes narrowed, "that's what you think." And then they were duelling fiercely, though she was the one throwing the more dangerous curses, knowing he couldn't hurt her too much.

The anger she felt at the man who had almost killed her when she was just 16 grew as he tried to throw stunners at her. Something inside her snapped as one of his spells narrowly missed her face and she could feel her power growing. Raising her wand she shouted as loud and with as much power as possibly, "Reducto," aiming the spell at the man in front of her.

The last expression on his face was one of disbelief before his body was broken down into thousands of separate molecules. She stepped back as she felt the power of the spell and realised that everyone had stopped fighting and were staring at her, she knew that it took a lot of power to kill with only a reducto spell. Looking round she saw shock on most faces and took the time to observe that the Order so far appeared relatively unharmed, though all had some sort of injury,

It took a minute to hit her that she had killed someone in cold blood. Sure he was a death eater and probably deserved much worse, but that didn't make it much better. She had tainted her soul irreversibly and she hoped that the others would forgive her.

She looked at her wand in shock and started to back away slowly from the scene of Dolohov's demise, not seeing the panicked look in the Order's eyes or hearing their warnings. After a few steps back she hit something solid and turned around to see what it was, only to come face to face with Voldemort.

Before she could even think of brandishing her wand he had knocked it out of her hands and held her wrists in an iron grip similar to the way he had held her during their first meeting in Riddle Manor. She struggled relentlessly, but it was all in vain, she just wasn't strong enough to break free.

Voldemort gave a smirk and addressed his four surviving death eaters, "I shall take the girl with me, have a bit more fun with this rabble before you leave." A few whispered words in her ear, the wave of a wand and she was sinking into the darkness of unconsciousness, her last thought was worry for her friends before she knew no more.

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She woke up feeling a little groggy, but mostly lucid and knew almost straight away that she was in Voldemort's headquarters, the green and silver snake designs sort of made it obvious. She had been captured, that much was obvious to her and she guessed she was in a guest room, it was luxurious, let rather plain and lacking in any kind of personal touch. Still, death eaters didn't seem like the type of people who were big on personal items but you never knew.

She had a look round the room and found some bookshelves in a corner, great she would at least have something to do while she waited. If she was going to be around a while she was glad that she had something to read, though of course she wanted out of the place as soon as possible. Most of the tomes seemed to be dark magic, which Hermione had no intention of reading, however, there were a few lighter books. She was surprised to find a copy of 'Hogwarts: A History' on the shelves, but she remembered Dumbledore telling them how Hogwarts had felt like Tom Riddle's first true home, so it wasn't strange that he felt an attachment to the old castle. She settled into the chair with her favourite book, it would stop her mind from wandering and remind her of the castle she would soon be returning to.

She sat on her bed doing nothing much but reading for a few hours, no one had come in to see her, though a plate of food had mysteriously appeared on the table. She ate it quickly because she was hungry and sure that if he wanted to kill her, which she had a feeling he didn't, there would be much more efficient ways than food she might not even eat. As expected, she did not drop dead and she managed a little smile, he was keeping her alive and hopefully that would give her time to either find a way out herself or wait for the Order to rescue her. Either way, she refused to be stuck in the dark place for any longer than she really had to.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; ladygoddess8, Readerforlife and Elfsquire90. Also thanks to Muffin'sback for the review of chapter 45.**

**If anyone isn't sure about the magical henge the Order visit, just think of it as Stone Henge, that was the sort of place I was thinking of. See ****.**** for the basic sort of look I was using.**

**Also, you might wonder why Voldemort orders his death eaters not to kill the Order members. It is for a few reasons; he wants to kill the traitors (aka Draco and Blaise) himself and he thinks that when he gets Hermione and manages to turn her (he is completely convinced that this will inevitably happen) then she will destroy her friends and complete her descent into darkness. He sees it as more symbolic that way.**


	48. Interlude: Kingsley

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

**Interlude: Kingsley**

The entire Order was in panic, Hermione's capture did not bode well at all for them all. Kingsley had always been a rational, calm man, but this situation had him just as desperate and wild as the rest of them. Hermione was like the daughter or sister he never had and he loved her, everyone in the Order did.

The death eaters who remained once Voldemort had departed with Hermione had grinned at his instructions to "have a bit more fun" with the Order. The only consolation to the Order was that Voldemort had for some reason ordered that they weren't to be killed. The fight had continued on for another half an hour with no fatalities after Dolohov, but a lot of injuries. When the death eaters finally disapparated everyone in the Order had a lot of injuries and some needed a little help getting back to the castle so some of the stronger ones had to side-apparate the badly injured.

Dumbledore, with his uncanny ability to sense trouble, met them at the Hogwarts gates with a worried expression and an anxious group of women consisting of Molly, Luna, Ginny, Narcissa and Maria. They noticed Hermione's absence immediately and Molly burst into tears as she saw the group's dejected expressions and multitude of injuries. Luna and Maria rushed to Blaise, Narcissa to Draco, Molly to Ron and Ginny to Harry. The adults spoke in quiet, serious tones with Dumbledore, explaining exactly what had happened at the henge.

Kingsley, who was lucky enough to have two uninjured legs, helped Ginny with Harry, whose determination to do as much damage to the death eaters responsible for Hermione's capture had led to him breaking one of his legs and badly cutting the other, as the expanded group moved towards Hogwarts, with the promise of the Hospital Wing and Madame Pomfrey's incessant coddling. Kingsley was glad his injuries were superficial and that he wouldn't have to stay there - Poppy was a great nurse, but a huge nuisance when it came to babying her patients.

They were almost to the entrance of the castle when the huge doors swung open and Bill Weasley hurried out, stopping just before their group. His eyes flicked frantically round the group and Kingsley, like them all, knew the person he was looking for. When he didn't see her, he turned to the older members of the group and when the others didn't seem able to speak, Kingsley took the task of telling Bill the bad news, "Hermione was captured Bill, I'm so sorry." The anguish in the younger man's eyes, as his face fell, pained Kingsley to see, especially when the kidnapped girl in question was a close friend.

Molly immediately went to her eldest son, comforting him with maternal warmth and insisting that they would find Hermione. Dumbledore came over to Kingsley, "we're all going to meet in the Great Hall to discuss what we could do for Miss Granger. Would you fetch Severus for me Kingsley, I would send a patronus but he's working on a rather volatile potion and I don't wish to surprise him." Kingsley nodded and hurried off at once, disappearing down the corridor just as he heard Dumbledore send Moody to fetch Arthur, while Ron and Blaise were sent to find Charlie, Fred, George and Neville.

Kingsley found himself at Snape's lab door five minutes later and he knocked gently, as was the custom when Snape was in one of his potions vortexes. There was a masculine grunt from inside, indicating that he had been heard, before a harried Snape opened the door a minute later, "can this wait Kingsley?" he asked, "because the potion is really rather delicate at this point." Kingsley shook his head, "Hermione's been captured." Snape's eyes narrowed, "I'll put the potion in stasis and be up in five minutes." Kingsley nodded and turned round to head up to the Great Hall, pondering how much Hermione had everyone wrapped round her little finger, he was sure that Snape would never have come so quickly for anyone else but perhaps Albus and Draco.

* * *

Five minutes later and the Order, minus Snape, were around one of the large, wooden tables in the Great Hall and trying to come up with a plan of action. From the snippets Kingsley could actually hear over all the noise, there didn't appear to be much they could do. He was actually grateful when Snape swept into the room, with his connections perhaps he could tell them something about where Hermione might be held. Snape took a seat next to Albus and the room instantly fell silent. Kingsley smirked slightly, he didn't hate Severus like Sirius did and found the way he could silence a room of hardened Order members by just being there rather amusing.

"What happened," was all that came out of Snape's mouth and he merely nodded occasionally as Remus explained what had happened at the henge. "The Dark Lord is likely to have her well protected at headquarters," he told them, "but as you know I am under oath and cannot reveal the location without bringing death upon myself." He scowled at Sirius, "and no Black, despite my friendship with Hermione, I will not martyr myself for the cause when there could be another way." Sirius' face actually fell and Kingsley couldn't be sure if he'd truly contemplated the idea, you could never tell when it came to Snape and Sirius - there was an awful lot of hatred there.

Albus cleared his throat and the death glares between the two men stopped. The Order leader turned to Snape, "you believe there may be a way to retrieve her Severus?" Snape thought for a moment and then nodded, "perhaps, I will be gone for a while to see what I can do." Albus nodded and Snape disappeared out of the door. Normally this removed tension from the room, but with Hermione missing it remained despite Snape's exit. Sirius coughed, "well despite Sniv- I mean Snape's supposed plan, I think it would be wise if we all actually did something, I mean we can't depend just on a plan that might not even work." No one missed the unsaid, "especially because it's Snape's plan."

Albus nodded, "it is wise for some of us to scope out the area we know Voldemort's headquarters to be, just in case there are any weak points. The rest of us can brainstorm any ideas we might have to retrieve Miss Granger if Severus' plan does not work out." He turned to where Remus was sitting, "could you take Kingsley and Charlie and apparate to Wiltshire. As far as we know, it is Malfoy Manor which Voldemort is using as his headquarters." He paused for a moment, "take Mr Malfoy with you too," he said, gesturing to Draco, "though he will inevitably have been removed from the list of those with access to the Manor, he knows the location well and will assist you. I must ask that you do not engage in any dangerous situations and send Mr Malfoy back if there is any sign of death eaters - from what you told me about your time at the henge, they are not best pleased with him at the moment." Kingsley nodded and Albus waved them out, "don't take too long, there shouldn't really be much to see and I'd hate for more of us to end up in trouble trying to save Miss Granger."

* * *

"We're practically across from the manor now," Draco told them quietly, "but this is about as far as we should get unless you fancy some stinging hexes and being hurled about twenty feet that way," he said, pointing behind them. "It isn't too bad, it's when you start trying to break the wards that things tend to get nasty." Kingsley, Remus and Charlie nodded and Kingsley reflected that, outside of his father's poisonous influence and when trying to turn over a new leaf, Draco Malfoy could actually be rather useful. He hadn't quite been elevated to 'pleasant to be around' in Kingsley's opinion just yet, but he was getting there. Anyway, Hermione trusted him and she had the uncanny ability of being able to see whether someone was trustworthy or not.

Kingsley heard Remus sigh and with good reason - they could skirt around the edges of the wards for hours and he doubted they'd find anything else. Even if the wards were breakable, it would take so long that Voldemort would be alerted and there would likely be no one left to find. "Come on," Kingsley told the others, "we might as well make one last round looking for any holes in the wards. If we can't find any this time then we'll head back to Hogwarts, where we might be able to do something useful." The others nodded and they split into pairs to search.

Remus and Draco headed off to search the right side of the wards, while Kingsley and Charlie took the left side. Charlie remained fairly silent throughout, but this was what he was normally like so Kingsley wasn't worried. He didn't express worry for Hermione verbally, but it was there in his eyes and Kingsley knew he cared - Hermione was one of the few people outside his family that he spoke regularly too, having always preferred the company of dragons, along with solitary flying, more than human contact. Kingsley gave the dragon tamer a reassuring smile and Charlie gave a crooked smile back - they'd find Hermione somehow, they had to.

The pair met Remus and Draco in the middle and neither had anything to report. Despite their previous belief that this would be the case, they couldn't help but be frustrated by their lack of progress in the search for Hermione. "Guess we better head back," said Remus, trying and failing to hide the disappointment in his voice. Moving a little further away from the wards, the four apparated away to just outside the gates of Hogwarts and entered the great castle, hoping none of the Order would be too disheartened by the lack of help their scouting mission had been.

* * *

The Order had now tried scoping out the area where they knew Hermione would be held, without much luck information wise. The only useful thing they had was that there was too much security to make a safe attempt at rescuing Hermione, which they really knew already. Snape had arrived back just after Kingsley, Remus, Charlie and Draco, but was unable to be sure whether he had been successful in his attempt to help Hermione. They were now all sat around a large wooden table in the great hall trying to decide on the best plan of action, which was difficult considering they were all too busy worrying about Hermione's wellbeing to really concentrate.

The room was so loud and involved in the discussion that they didn't notice the huge oak door swing open or the female voice that tried to shout for their attention. They did however notice when said girl pressed her wand to her throat and magically amplified her voice, "Oi, you'd think that being the Order of the Phoenix you lot would notice someone entering the room and proceeding to shout for your attention.

The entire startled Order turned to the entrance of the hall to see a slightly dishevelled, but apparently unharmed, Hermione Granger standing in the door grinning at them all.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; TsukiyoTenshi, Cristal90, Elfsquire90, ladygoddess8 and Readerforlife.**

**The next chapter, in which Hermione explains just how she managed to escape from Voldemort's clutches, will be posted in a few days.**


	49. Escape Is Easy When You're Hermione

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

**Escape Is Easy When You're Hermione Granger**

_The room was so loud and involved in the discussion that they didn't notice the huge oak door swing open or the female voice that tried to shout for their attention. They did however notice when said girl pressed her wand to her throat and magically amplified her voice, "Oi, you'd think that being the Order of the Phoenix you lot would notice someone entering the room and proceeding to shout for your attention. _

The entire startled Order turned to the entrance of the hall to see a slightly dishevelled, but apparently unharmed, Hermione Granger standing in the door grinning at them all. After a minute of silence there was a stampede to try and reach her, but they were interrupted by Moody's voice shouting across the hall, "Constant vigilance. Where's your safety procedures, we have to check it is Granger first."

Snape took a step forward, "I believe it is most certainly her," he turned to Hermione, "the Dark Lord left with most of his death eaters?" She nodded, "yeah, I did wonder what had happened, so it was you?" Snape gave a nod and Hermione smiled brightly, "thanks Severus."

Moody looked suspiciously between the two, "what the hell is going on here?" Snape rolled his eyes, Moody had never liked him much, "I may have created a little rumour that spread to the Dark Lord and caused him to get worried and take most of his followers elsewhere to search for an item of some value to him."

Hermione nodded, "yeah, it was only the really dumb death eaters left behind and I used a couple of tricks to get out." Dumbledore looked her over, "you better sit down Miss Granger, we'll need to know what happened and you'll have to consent to veritaserum so we can be sure it is you."

Hermione nodded grudgingly and the others were a little confused, what could she possibly wish to hide from all of them. Snape returned from his lab with a small crystal vial filled with clear liquid and handed it to her. She pulled off the stopper and sniffed it, to check it actually was veritaserum, before raising it to her lips and drinking it.

She shivered a little as the potion took effect and, feeling a little dizzy, she sat down on one of the chairs opposite Dumbledore, ready for the questioning to begin. Everyone else sat down to watch the proceedings, eager to be sure it was their Hermione and praying it wasn't some death eater in disguise.

"Full name, age and parent's names?"

"Hermione Jean Granger, seventeen years old. My deceased parents were named Edward and Anna Granger."

Most of her audience's faces lit up, it must be Hermione, but a whispered consultation among some of the adults concluded that if the death eaters had found a way to avoid veritaserum then they needed to ask a question only Hermione would know.

Sirius stepped forward, "she knows secrets of mine that I've never told anyone else," he explained to them, "I'll ask her a question and if she gets it right we know it is really Mione." Dumbledore gave his permission and even Moody admitted it was a good idea. Sirius leant forward to whisper something in Hermione's ear and she nodded, then whispered something back to him.

His face broke into a smile and he turned to the crowd, "it is really Mione." That was all they all needed to engulf her with hugs and she grinned when she was swept up into a deep kiss from Bill, ignoring the catcalls coming from the twins and the groans of disgust from Ron.

But there was still an explanation to give and Dumbledore looked meaningfully between Hermione and Snape, who both sighed and sat down. Hermione looked a little pained at the prospect of having to explain, "I will tell you what happened, but I wish to get it over as soon as humanely possible." Then she began her story;

* * *

_Hermione Granger was not happy, she'd been sitting there in the damn room for over two hours just waiting around. When the door finally opened she was just about ready to hex someone, if she'd had her wand of course. He smirked at her, red eyes gleaming with interest and robes billowing around his skeletal body, "ah Miss Granger, so sorry to keep you waiting my dear, but I received some … alarming news about a few rumours."_

_That perked Hermione's interest, what rumours could possibly worry Voldemort. He continued speaking, "as it is, I have to leave you here alone for a little while so I can go check on my business and most of my servants must come with me."_

_Hermione brightened at this, but tried not to show it outwardly, speaking with a sarcastic tone instead, "what a shame," she drawled, "and here I was thinking we'd get to enjoy tea and cookies together while discussing the weather." Her eyes narrowed at him, "I don't know why you think I give a fuck where you go because, as long as I don't have to see you, I don't care."_

"_Such a charmer Hermione," he let her first name roll of his snake-like tongue with ease and she cringed at the way he said it, "I shall be leaving a few guards to watch you while I am away so I wouldn't try any little escape plans. Even if you did escape them, the Manor is incredibly well protected"_

_With those parting words he left the room and left Hermione to contemplate what he had told her, smiling a little when she realised the flaw in his plan. She and Severus had once discussed what they would do if Hermione ended up a captive of Voldemort and Severus had jokingly outlined a plan._

_This plan involved spreading a rumour about the safety of one of Voldemort's horcruxes, a rumour which suggested that the whole Order of the Phoenix was going after said horcrux. Voldemort would never ignore such a rumour, even if it might not be true and if he was to face the whole Order he would need to take most of his death eaters with him, leaving only a few weak ones behind._

_This would allow Hermione to escape since she was more than capable of overcoming weak death eaters, the only problem was the property's wards. But Severus had told her that he had created a spell years ago, built into the wards themselves and virtually undetectable. This spell would allow him to remove the wards on the property at any time and from any place. Since he would most likely be forced to accompany Voldemort then that would be the best he could do. But it was more than enough to get her out._

_Of course it had only be the two of them dreaming up schemes and she had no idea if he'd remember that day's discussion or if it would even work if put into practice. Still there was no harm in checking it out, she wasn't about to be picky about her escape route._

_She sat down on the chair and took a deep breath, as Professor Dumbledore had told her to in their lessons, trying to focus her magical energy onto a wandless spell to reveal human presence. This wandless version took a little longer than it would have with a wand, but five minutes later it was complete and she knew that there were only five people present in the building other than herself._

_She also used a technique that Bill had taught her, one he had learnt during his curse breaking work. This spell was very useful in the tombs and pyramids as it detected the strength of the wards surrounding an area and she knew it would work to discover whether Severus had managed to get the wards down. The even better thing about the spell was that it was meant to be done wandlessly, the one who wished to use it had to channel their magical energy and it took a lot of focus, though of course Hermione had picked it up incredibly fast._

_10 minutes of quiet meditation and she finally discovered that there was only one weak ward up, she guessed Severus would have had to leave something for the death eaters magic to pick up on, but both of them would know that none of the death eaters had the patience to wait and discover exactly what wards were up - they wouldn't realise they were so weak._

_This would be an marvellous opportunity to test out her new abilities, she thought to herself, allowing a little smirk to slide onto her features. Those death eaters wouldn't know what hit them … now what to do about the door, she mused to herself._

_10 minutes, one improved Alohamora charm, two stunning spells, three binding spells and one punch later, four of the five death eaters meant to be guarding her were out on the floor and she was smiling at her handiwork, not bad considering all her spells had been done wandlessly and non-verbally. _

_She was now facing the only death eater left standing and she had nothing but hate and contempt for him. She had recognised his face a few minutes after she had exited her room, he was probably the most skilled death eater there, but still not too good. She also knew he was the man to hold a wand to Ginny's throat during the battle at the Department of Mysteries - no one hurt her friends and got away with it._

_She could have disarmed him without a word, could have stunned and bound him, but this man deserved something a little special. So she began the complex drawing in of magical energy as she had been taught and the petrified death eater suddenly found himself face to face with a lioness._

_With what could have been a smirk crossing the animal's face, Hermione's Gryffindor animagus form leapt at the death eater._

_It wasn't too pretty, what she did to him, but she made sure to leave him alive - she wasn't one to kill someone out of spite only. When she was sure he was subdued she transformed back into her human self and made her way quickly to the door leading out of the room._

_She tiptoed round for another twenty minutes trying to find her way out and avoiding any house elves that passed by her - she had seen the loyalty they had for their masters and she had no wish for them to fetch Voldemort. When she had eventually found the exit she spent no time dawdling, but quickly and efficiently ripped away the weak wards left over, before stepping out of the boundaries of the house and apparating to the gates of Hogwarts._

* * *

"Then I gave the password and came up here as quick as possible to find you all arguing about how to find me - I was quite touched really," she added the last part with a grin. She turned to Snape, "don't think I could have done it nearly as easily if it wasn't for you Severus." At her words many of the other members added their thanks and even Sirius, Harry and Ron muttered thanks. But Dumbledore looked pensive and he looked at Hermione with scrutiny, "there is something you are hiding from us my dear, I can see it in your eyes, there is something you don't want us to know. The veritaserum wore off just after we were sure it was you and so you were perfectly capable of leaving something out - I think it's best that you tell us."

Hermione's eyes flashed violently, "okay then, I lied to you all, I missed out a bit of information. Are you happy now, you caught me out."

Many of them winced at her harsh tone, but Moody limped over to her and stuck his wand in her face, much to the indignation of some of the other Order members. "What happened then missy, been consorting with death eaters have you?" Dumbledore looked at Moody with anger, "Alastor, don't say such things," and it was taking both Remus and Kingsley to hold Sirius back, while Fred and George kept a reluctant hold on Harry and Ron.

Hermione pushed her chair back and stood up abruptly, facing off to Moody with a defiant look on her face, "you know as well as anyone that I would never consort with the monsters who killed my parents." She was getting more worked up and they all knew they should try and calm her, before she blew up at them. But their attempts failed when Hermione continued, "I kept the information I hid secret because I didn't want to tell you all that I got CRUICIOED by a death eater while in captivity." She stopped speaking, breathing heavily and looking anguished.

Every eye in the room widened at the revelation and a dozen of them were halfway out of their chairs to go to her when she held up a hand, "are you happy now, are you glad that I told you? Did you all really want to know?" Her words seemed directed at Moody, who had the decency to look vaguely ashamed of himself, the only time the expression had crossed his face while Hermione had known him.

Hermione's fiery eyes dimmed as a few tears trickled down her cheek and she sighed softly, "I didn't want to upset anyone, I thought if you didn't know then you wouldn't all worry about me." She stood there, looking much younger and more vulnerable than usual, until Bill stood and quietly went over to her, wrapping his arms round her slim frame and pulling her close. The Order heard a muffled sob and took it as their cue to leave Bill to comfort Hermione. Snape conjured a vial of the potion he used to deal with Cruciatus after-effects and handed it to Bill before sweeping out of the room with a pained look on his pale face. Harry and Ron looked worried at leaving Hermione alone, but Remus and Sirius (who was actually being mature) chivvied them out of the room, knowing Hermione wouldn't want too many people around at the moment.

Bill stroked Hermione's curly hair gently with one hand, slipping the potion Snape had given into his pocket to give her later. "Shh Mione, it'll be ok, I'm here for you and so are all the others." Another sob and Bill pulled his distraught girlfriend closer, "come on Mione, we'll go up to my room for some peace and quiet and you can take the potion Snape gave me to get rid of any lingering pain. Have a lie down and then you'll feel much better - it's been a rather taxing day for you." Hermione nodded her head and let Bill pull her gently out of the Great Hall and to his quarters. Rest was what she needed and then she'd feel better. As long as Bill and her friends were around she'd be ok.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; Readerforlife, ladygoddess8, HSCswimmer and TsukiyoTenshi.**

**The next chapter, which is an interlude on Blaise and Luna, should be up in a few days. **


	50. Interlude: Luna & Blaise

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

**Interlude: Luna and Blaise**

If you asked anyone residing in Hogwarts castle which two people they saw least then the answers would be unanimous: Luna Lovegood and Blaise Zabini. Most of them only knew of Luna's existence through her friendship with Ginny and then with the rest of the young crowd after the formation of the D.A. She kept to herself mostly, having learnt early on that many didn't care for her unique ideas - until the D.A.

Even amongst the Slytherins, not much was known about Blaise Zabini - Draco knew him best, Snape knew him fairly well and his mother of course knew him. That was about the extent of it. Blaise had discovered that keeping to the shadows and working in secret not only tended to clear him of any blame - on the rare occasion he was involved in anything dodgy - but also intimidated the rest of the school and meant everyone tended to leave him alone, he liked it that way.

It seems only too cliché that these two should find each other - two outcasts among a sea of students. Luna was the next person after Dumbledore, Snape and Hermione who actually believed the story the two Slytherins told of wishing to escape Voldemort's influence and help the light side. Blaise was the first person since the D.A to actually care about something Luna had to say, no matter how loopy it might sound. She found he was actually a secret believer in the ideas she held dear to her heart and they spent many an afternoon hunting Nargles in the Astronomy Tower or visiting the thestrals in the forest (Blaise had watched his grandfather die).

Ron sometimes teased that they spent so much time together because they were both 'outsiders' in a way. Harry, who had respected Luna since their conversations in the trio's fifth and sixth years, said nothing negative at all. Ginny spoke of how romantic it was, she always loved a brooding hero and a heroine with long flowing hair (which Luna had in abundance, not to mention it was a fairytale like blonde). Draco gently nudged his friend in the direction of the ethereal Ravenclaw, he might be a bit of a bastard but he wanted to see his best friend happy. Hermione just observed and smiled.

* * *

Luna had never had too many friends, even within her own house. The only girl who'd ever shown much interest in getting to know her was Ginny Weasley. It was Ginny who had invited her to the D.A, the organisation that had given her a whole host of new friends in addition to Ginny; Harry, Hermione, Ron and Neville being the closest. She'd painted their faces on her ceiling that summer, with little golden words linking them round, "friends" and she'd been so happy to be included, they had (mostly) never made fun of her quirks and if they ever did she knew it was all just in jest. Still, when she met Blaise properly for the first time, after he'd come to Hogwarts for shelter, she knew she'd found someone even more special. All the others were brilliant and generally accepting of her ideas, but they didn't really believe in them. Blaise actually listened and confided in her that he believed too - he was a kindred spirit.

She hadn't even meant to start spending time with him to begin with, it had just happened. Luna liked to wander the castle at the strangest times, just spending the time looking for creatures and thinking in a quiet place. She found herself running into Blaise more than she did anyone else and they discovered they had the same favourite places and a tendency to wander around in solitude. However, neither of them minded their peace being disturbed by the other, they welcomed it in fact. After a little while they began taking familiar routes in the hope of running into each other and walking together for a while, chatting about inane things and forgetting the war raging around them.

The day they began dating started like any other really. They'd been running into each other more often the past few days, due mainly to the fact that they never seemed to be able to find Draco, Ginny, Harry and Hermione often. This had shocked Blaise a bit - Draco willingly spending time with the Gryffindors, but he'd just shrugged it off as his best friend finally growing up and putting prejudice aside. He'd asked her out of the blue and rather casually, as if it didn't matter to him - which they both knew was a complete lie - "will you go out with me Luna?" She'd smiled and in her typically blunt nature had answered, "of course, I've been waiting ages for you to finally ask me." He'd laughed, so had she and then they'd gone on as usual, so no one really noticed the difference.

One day of dating in and they hadn't shared it with anyone, liking to have it to themselves for a while, not to mention the fact that their best friends (Ginny and Draco) never seemed to be around. They soon worked out why after a little reconnaissance mission had the pair eavesdropping on Ginny, Hermione, Draco and Harry's conversation on how to get them together. They'd remained silent just long enough to escape to a deserted classroom, before they'd burst into laughter at the thought of their friends trying so hard to get two people already dating together. In the end they'd decided they wouldn't reveal anything yet, wanting to see what plans emerged from the quartet.

They'd had a hilarious time when their friends finally acted, pulling them away to hint heavily that they should be dating each other. The plan was simple and pretty good, but since they were already together it was fun to string their friends along before they finally revealed their couple status. The effects had been just as amusing as they had hoped and once they'd finished laughing at the scowls on the faces of their friends, they explained how they'd finally got together. Draco had laughed and both Ginny and Hermione had thought it a rather sweet way of asking Luna out, if a little unromantic in its nature.

Now, Luna and Blaise were just enjoying their time as a couple. Luna felt a little sorry for Hermione and Harry in a way, they saw their respective boyfriend and girlfriend a lot less during the day than Luna did, because they had so much to do in training and research. Hermione had it especially bad because at least Ginny was always in the castle, whereas Bill had to leave for work and there could sometimes be days when Hermione only saw him for a few minutes - quite annoying when they lived in the same place. But they got through it well, Luna thought, and she would know seeing as she was rather observant when it came to people.

* * *

Blaise was happier than he had ever been before and that was mostly due to one blonde girl called Luna Lovegood. His life hadn't been too difficult by any means, not as bad as Draco had it with a rather unbalanced father. Blaise's own father had died rather quickly and while the long line of step-fathers hadn't exactly been nice, they'd never treated him badly - hadn't lasted long enough to - and his mother had loved him fiercely, dispelling any notion of the beautiful witch being an uncaring man-eater. Still, he had never quite found that brilliant level of happiness he craved - until he met Luna Lovegood when he came to Hogwarts for sanctuary.

He hadn't known her before, though he vaguely knew of her - she had been in Potter's DA and he knew she'd fought death eaters in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. That in itself had impressed him, all he'd heard of her beforehand made her out to be completely loopy, but he knew fighting death eaters took brains and guts. He'd realised once he got to know her that she had Ravenclaw tendencies in abundance, she just showed them in a different way. Not with flashing knowledge about, but by watching and making observations no one but Hermione Granger might have noticed - not to mention Luna was even better than Hermione when it came to understanding people.

Yes, it might seem like an unlikely match to many, but in reality Luna was completely and utterly perfect for him. Even Draco had agreed in the end and Blaise knew how difficult his best friend was to please. Said best friend had not been happy when he found out that he had worked for over a week with "Granger, Weaslette and bloody Harry Potter" to get together a couple already dating, but in the end he had seen the amusing side and Blaise was no longer in danger from being hexed. Blaise's mother had been totally delighted with the news, having already got well acquainted with Luna, telling Blaise how happy she was for him. Even Snape had given his own seal of approval, with a nod for Blaise and the lack of his normal sneer for Luna - after all Snape would always appreciate brains, even if the mind using them was rather eccentric.

* * *

"I think the Nargles are hibernating right now Luna," said Blaise with a lazy grin. She nodded gravely, "of course, they tend to live in mistletoe. But I think I'll wear my necklace," she gestured to her butterbeer cork jewellery, "just in case. It keeps them away." Blaise gave her an indulgent smile, Nargles were one of the creatures whose existence he wasn't so sure about, so he moved on to a creature he firmly believed to be real, having seen it through a pair of Spectrespecs he'd got in the Quibbler. "I think there might be some Wrackspurts round here Luna," he told her, "I feel a bit fuzzy, it's worst when I stand here," he said, placing himself right under the archway in the corridor they were standing in.

Luna nodded and spoke in a dreamy voice, "I feel it too, after all it is prime season for Wrackspurts and they seem to like floating under archways, though I'm not quite sure why." The pair stayed where they were for a few minutes longer, trying to squint and see the Wrackspurts, however they had left their spectrespecs in the Gryffindor Tower and so they had a hard time finding any. In the end they gave up, though Luna was resolute in having another attempt when they next had a free afternoon (Wrackspurts could never be found in the morning). She turned to Blaise and took his hand, "come on, dinner's almost over, I think we should go get some pudding." Then they disappeared round the corner, leaving the buzzing Wrackspurts behind them.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; ladygoddess8, Readerforlife and HSCswimmer.**

**If you're wondering about the information on Nargles and Wrackspurts, I got most of it from Harry Potter Wikia and the rest is just made up. I know I used a bit of a strange ending, but I thought I'd make a reference to the Order of the Phoenix film, where Luna tells Harry she might go get a bit of pudding from the end of year feast. **

**The next chapter, in which the Order search for the diadem Horcrux, will be up in a few days.**


	51. The Albanian Cave

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

**The Albanian Cave**

"I'm bored."

"Then do something productive Ronald."

"But there's nothing to do Mione, the adults are in a meeting that we're not invited to."

"Honestly Ronald, maybe its something we shouldn't hear."

"We're supposed to be Order members now Hermione, they shouldn't keep us out."

"I know Harry, but it must be important. Come to think of it, the only people there are those who know about Horcruxes - maybe they've got a lead on Ravenclaw's Diadem."

"Does that mean we'll get to go on a mission, please say they let us - I am so bored right now I'd almost wish for training, no matter how painful."

"I'll remind you of that sometime Ronald."

"Ha-de-ha Mione, I don't get how you're content to just sit here."

"I'm doing a little light reading since I'm up to date on assignments and research."

"Bloody hell Mione, that book is 1000 pages long, if that's light then what in Merlin's name do you class as long."

"Oh be quiet Harry, some of us like to read."

"You two aren't berating Mione about her books again are you," came a jovial voice and they turned to see a grinning Bill at the common room entrance. Hermione's face lit up and she dropped her book immediately, hauling herself off the sofa and throwing herself into Bill's waiting arms. He laughed deeply, "pleased to see me are you Mione? I'd love to stay, but I'm just the errand boy today - Dumbledore wants you three in his office now, he said you'd know what it was about. I'm supposed to stay here and make sure Ginny doesn't sneak off after you, Dumbledore said that while she knows what's going on, she shouldn't be wherever you're going today."

Hermione, Harry and Ron shared an excited look, they knew Dumbledore must have been referring to Horcruxes. Could it be that he had managed to find Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem? Hermione wondered why Ginny was forbidden from going, the only thing she could think of was it having something to do with the copy of Tom Riddle. Maybe the Diadem was another early Horcrux and Dumbledore was worried that it would use a form of Tom Riddle as protection - only two things really terrified Ginny - loss of her family and friends and Tom Riddle as he was in the diary form (seductive and evil).

Ron and Harry quickly found Ginny and brought her down to where Hermione was talking quietly with Bill, heads close together. The fiery redhead put up a bit of a fight at being left behind, but the look in Harry's eyes let her know there was a good reason and she didn't want to upset him. Hermione, Harry and Ron grabbed their wands and cloaks before speeding off to Dumbledore's office, though not until after Hermione had given Bill a suitably affectionate goodbye. Ron gagged, Harry laughed and Hermione blushed.

They entered Dumbledore's office to find him waiting with Sirius, Remus, Minerva, Severus and Tonks, whose bump was very noticeable now she was in her seventh month of pregnancy. Dumbledore informed them that Moody was unavailable and that since Tonks was pregnant and unable to go out on missions, that he would be accompanying the trio to destroy the Horcrux, with the assistance of Sirius, Remus and Severus. Tonks looked a little down at being left behind, she was never one to sit around idly. However, since her pregnancy had made her even clumsier than normal - and had resulted in an anti-trip charm having to be refreshed on her every hour - she had agreed to remain behind. Besides, accidentally hurting the baby was the last thing she wanted to do, not to mention how much of an over-protective husband Remus was being to her at the moment.

Dumbledore explained the situation quickly; Ravenclaw's Diadem had been located and found to be hidden in a magical cave in Albania. Hermione knew Voldemort had spent some time there, but she would have never guessed he would hide a precious piece of his soul there, there seemed to be no attachment. It was not until Dumbledore informed them that Albania was where Voldemort had discovered Nagini, his familiar, that she saw the link. They would be journeying by portkey - unauthorised of course and untraceable thanks to Dumbledore's power. Hermione had sighed to herself as Dumbledore explained that piece of information, she seriously wondered if she would ever trust the Ministry fully - after the debacle with chasing the wrong man (Sirius), denying Voldemort's return and being slowly taken over by Voldemort, she severely doubted it. She had become very suspicious of governing bodies.

* * *

The forest was damp, dense and humid, having experienced heavy rainfall recently. Hermione made a mental note not to come back for a holiday - she tended to prefer straightforward sun if possible. They pushed through heavy branches and she groaned as she felt her robes rip occasionally on sharper branches - thank Merlin these were some of her old robes. She wanted to ask how much longer the journey to the cave would take, but since Harry and Ron had taken to asking "are we there yet?" every five minutes, she refrained, not wanting to be classed with their childish behaviour. She would just have to stick it out.

Harry and Ron seemed to lack her manners and were complaining every second sentence, while Dumbledore chuckled, Sirius and Remus grinned and Severus scowled darkly at the two boys. Hermione was relieved when they finally came to some sort of clearing which allowed her to breathe without inhaling leaves and also to collapse onto the soft mossy ground and rest her aching legs. She did well in training but she wasn't used to walking so far and in such annoying conditions. She noted with satisfaction that both Harry and Ron were lying spread-eagled on their backs and that Sirius and Remus were sitting cross-legged on the ground. Dumbledore and Severus remained standing, but Hermione had expected this as she could never imagine them flopping down to sit on moss.

They rested for ten minutes, each taking a deep drink from the magically refilling water bottle in Remus' backpack. Then they were back on the move, not wanting to linger to long in the forest where there could be many dangerous creatures present. Hermione thought guiltily that this could all have been done a lot easier and quicker if she, Harry and Ron had stayed at the castle, but she was glad Dumbledore wanted to include them, since it concerned them so much. Still, she almost wished they could use brooms, but they were too noticeable and the portkey could only take them ten miles from the cave at the least, due to the magical properties of the area. Hermione was a little relieved they were staying in the south end of the forest though, a few magical tribes resided in the south and Hermione knew they were not always particularly welcoming to strangers.

Hermione was incredibly excited when they spotted the cave a about a hundred metres in the distance, though she was a little worried about what might be guarding it. Her fears were realised when they spotted four guards in death eater garb guarding the entrance. She barely had time to blink before four red lights shot out from the wands of Dumbledore, Severus, Remus and Sirius, stunning the death eaters and knocking them unconscious. "We don't want to alert Tom to the fact that we have been here," Dumbledore told them, "so we must remember to modify their memories as we are leaving and ensure they still believe they are guarding the Diadem. They will likely be too scared to enter, but we will leave a copy in case and hopefully Tom will not discover the disappearance for a while, if ever."

They nodded and proceeded cautiously inside the dark cave, each lighting the area were _Lumos_. It was not a tiny cave, nor was it cavernous. Surprisingly enough the Diadem was fairly easy to find. Since all of them within the cave were powerful, they could feel the evil magic radiating from one corner and, sure enough, once investigated they found some simple wards easily broken down, and the Diadem on a bust - which was in fact of Tom Riddle's head. Hermione snorted audibly, how vain could the wizard be? They were all careful not to touch the Diadem, unsure of what sort of protections it could have. Severus waved his wand and though the spell was non-verbal, Hermione concluded it was a diagnostics sort to see what curses were upon Ravenclaw's heirloom.

What happened next was not precisely what anyone but perhaps Dumbledore expected and Hermione could see why Ginny had been left behind. The Horcrux appeared to have been the third one made, after the diary and cup, when Tom Riddle had disappeared from Borgin and Burkes to Albania. Which was why when his figure materialised, it was not the snake-like lord they remembered or an older man, but a still handsome man in his early twenties, though with an air of unmistakeable evil around him. The figure was much like the one that had come from the diary, rather solid but not completely so. Thankfully no one lost their cool and when Dumbledore ordered them to point their wands at the figure and believe in the light, they did so without questions. Hermione guessed it was some sort of light triumphs over evil type thing - more unspoken magic of the heart rather than a spell.

Whatever it was, it worked and the figure slowly dissipated into nothing. Severus repeated his test and they found fairly complex protections that would be difficult and rather tiring to get rid of. It was lucky there were seven of them - since seven was the most magically powerful number it would give their spell casting an extra boost and prevent them all from keeling over in exhaustion. Hermione might hate Voldemort, but even she had to admit he could perform some impressive magic.

* * *

They cast a variety of spells at once, Dumbledore with _Bombarda Maxima_, Sirius and Harry with _Confringo_, Remus and Hermione with _Defodio _and finally Severus and Ron with _Diffindo_. The effect was almost instantaneous - it took only a moment for the Horcrux to disappear behind a cloud of black smoke as an almighty bang was heard. When the smoke cleared the Diadem was lying on the floor on top of the remains of the bust of Tom Riddle's head. It was charred black and leaking what seemed to be dark red blood. Hermione sighed, it was excellent that the soul piece was destroyed, but the Diadem was an heirloom of Rowena Ravenclaw and it was a huge shame it had needed to be ruined to remove the piece of soul - just another thing she could hate Voldemort for.

With the Horcrux destroyed and the remnants safely in Dumbledore's possession, the exhausted group prepared to leave. Hermione leant against the stone wall of the cave next to Harry and Ron as the four adults modified the memories of the death eaters who would forget they were ever attacked. She smiled at the blue sky, "I'm so glad that's over with," she said to her two best friends, "now we can just go home and I can soak in the bath for an hour before going to bed." Ron nodded, probably thinking of the kitchens rather than a bath, but Harry smirked, "Mione, you aren't forgetting the fact that we have to walk all the way back through the forest before we can portkey away, are you?"

"Fuck."

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; SweetSweetRevenge, HSCswimmer and ladygoddess8.**

**It isn't known for sure where Nagini's origins are, but it is suggested in Harry Potter wikia that she was found by Tom Riddle when he was in Albania, therefore that is what I went with.**

**All spells mentioned have appeared in the Harry Potter books at some point. If you want to know what they do then search them on Harry Potter wikia.**

**The next chapter, in which we get a look at Draco's perspective, will be up in a few days.**


	52. Interlude: Draco

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

**Interlude: Draco**

If someone had told him two years ago that he would be working for the light, against his father and all his previous beliefs and in the company of Potty, Weasel and Granger, he would have called them barmy. But that was exactly where he was now and for some warped, strange reason he liked being there and wouldn't go back to his 'I'm superior to you but I kneel before a half-blood' father and the psychopathic Dark Lord for anything. His father had proved to Draco just how backward Voldemort's thinking was - Draco had always been taught that purebloods were superior and that Malfoys bowed to no one. Yet his father knelt kissing the robes of a half-blood maniac and expecting Draco to do the same and be happy about it.

Draco's homelife had rarely been a happy one. The first few years of his life had seen his father suffer a temporary fall from grace after his involvement with Voldemort, despite the fact that he'd pleaded forced service under the Imperious Curse. His life was as happy as it could be with Lucius as a father from aged six until Draco left for Hogwarts. His father was proud of him when he achieved little things like riding a broom properly, but he was often beaten if he failed. His mother was always there to try and comfort, but she could only do so much under his father's watch.

The beatings had increased exponentially when Draco had gone off to Hogwarts, mainly due to the fact that he was second, not first in the year. It was a huge achievement to be above all the Ravenclaws of his year, but that didn't matter to the father who wanted Draco to be top. He supposed that was why he was able to hate Hermione Granger so much. He'd truthfully never had much issue with different bloods, though he always acted like he did, but his constant besting by Granger gave him the little resentment he needed to make his hateful act work well. He guessed he could thank her for that at least, though if she hadn't been around he would have likely been top. However, now he knew her at least marginally well, he would not begrudge her a place in the magical world, especially considering how much help she was to the effort to destroy the Dark Lord.

Draco had hated Weasley on principle - he was everything a pureblood was not supposed to be; poor, no regard for blood purity and with a warm, loving family life. The strange thing was that Draco had kind of envied him for the last thing, his family life tended to be cold, especially with his father involved. Of course, he never let a hint of that escape him, he didn't want to think what his father would have done if it had been known that Draco was envious of a Weasley of all people. Despite the envy, Draco didn't find it hard to hate Weasley, he was annoying as hell during the small amount of time they had to spend together, not to mention how completely uncouth he could be. Weasley seemed to have been brought up hating the Malfoy name and never missed an opportunity to annoy Draco, so it wasn't difficult to constantly insult him.

Then there was Potter - the bane of his existence for the first six years of his school life at Hogwarts. His father had been very particular in his instructions regarding Harry Potter - Draco was to try and befriend him so he could be a powerful ally when the Dark Lord inevitably returned. If this failed then he was to be treated with the same contempt as mudbloods. Since Potter had refused his handshake and taken up with Weasley and Granger, Draco had gone with the latter action and Potter was henceforth the equivalent of a leper to Slytherin house. Draco might only have been a first year, but the Malfoy name carried a lot of weight and he pretty much ruled the dungeons from the moment he set forth there, with higher authority only given to Professor Snape. Draco had occasionally felt a little bad for Potter, considering his lack of parents and the huge burden of bringing down the Dark Lord, but there was no room in his façade for doubt and he pushed those worries quickly away.

He'd discovered during his first six years of Hogwarts that the only one of his Slytherin housemates he could truly trust was Blaise. This wasn't particularly surprising - Slytherins were notorious for looking out only for their own interests and in making partnerships or relationships of convenience (never a true friendship) in order to accomplish their own goals. Draco had followed this trend - it was expected of him - and the only time he had broken from it was in regards to Blaise, who was probably one of the few Slytherins who could be genuine. They'd never broadcast their friendship, always making sure it seemed as though it was a convenient business arrangement, but they both knew each others secrets and that showed real trust between them.

It had been Blaise who had suggested taking their mothers and going to the Order of the Phoenix for sanctuary. It was a rather brave suggestion on Blaise's part - Draco had still been unsure of his allegiances at the time and could have easily passed the information of Blaise's desire for defection to Lucius or the Dark Lord. Draco had taken two days to think over what Blaise had told him, before telling his best friend resolutely that he wanted to get away from Voldemort. The small worries and disagreements he'd had with the Dark Lord's policies over the years had culminated in his thoughts and he had made a significant switch in his beliefs. Blaise's mother was easily persuaded, wanting nothing to do with the Dark Lord. Draco's own mother had been a little harder to persuade, worrying about what her husband might do, not to mention the retribution she could find heaped upon her by her insane sister, Draco's aunt Bellatrix. However, she had never really loved Lucius, it had been a marriage arranged for the benefits both families would gain, and she knew the Order were capable of hiding them incredibly well. Therefore she agreed and the four had packed and left the next morning.

* * *

They'd known it would be difficult to get the Order to believe them, despite the fact that Dumbledore was a remarkably forgiving man. Draco had therefore been infinitely surprised when the next person to believe their story after Dumbledore and Severus had been Hermione Granger. Yes, it had been because she knew of the truth serum they later discovered had been placed in their tea - but for people like Potter and Weasley, even that might not have been enough. She had so many reasons to hate him and she did not - that was a shock to him. He was very grateful to her, especially because she kept Potter and Weasley's insults and barbs to a minimum until they and Draco learnt to be civil to each other.

In the end it was Draco who was the focus of most suspicion, though Moody maintained for weeks that none of them were to be trusted. However, since Moody still didn't trust Severus, who had proved himself time and time again, no one really took his paranoia seriously. Draco and Blaise's mothers were not really disliked, they had never done too much to cause such a feeling and were found to be perfectly nice women. Blaise too, had kept himself to himself during the years at Hogwarts, never openly declaring himself either way or getting involved in any conflicts. Luna Lovegood had taken to him instantly and since most of the Order respected her as a brilliant judge of character, he was accepted without much hesitation.

That left Draco, who, in the end, received a lot less condemnation than he had expected and fully believed he deserved. There was six years of pretty disgraceful behaviour from him that the teenage Order members in particular had to try and get over. The girls; Hermione, Ginny and Luna, were best at acting normally, while Neville and Harry tended towards cordiality most of the time. The Weasley twins pranked him a few times for what he had done over the years, but after a month or two they became better. It was Ron Weasley who was the biggest problem, his temper making it difficult for him to get along with Draco. Even now, almost a year later, he would still occasionally blow up at Draco, though he tried to be civil most of the time.

Draco did enjoy getting to know the relatives he'd always been told were disgraces. He didn't see his aunt Andromeda much, she wasn't living at the castle and only came up occasionally. However, there was Andromeda's daughter - Draco's cousin - Nymphadora Tonks, who had informed Draco during their first meeting that he was to call her by her surname only or find out just why she was a successful auror. While he thought she was a little strange to begin with, Draco soon discovered that Tonks was a lot of fun, bringing no end of amusement with both her metamorphous abilities and her inability to walk a few steps without tripping over. Then there was Sirius, who was his mother's cousin and therefore Draco's second cousin. He'd been a little distant to begin with, probably due to Draco's actions in school - Harry was his godson after all, not to mention how protective he got over Hermione. Soon though, Sirius saw that Draco wasn't about to follow in the footsteps of his crazy aunt Bellatrix and warmed to him, seemingly glad that there was another two decent people in his family in Draco and Narcissa.

* * *

Draco and Blaise had both become immersed in Order life at Hogwarts rather quickly, not even complaining too much about having to live in Gryffindor Tower - at least they got a separate room to Potter, Weasley, Longbottom and the twins. The Order had explained the policy of dropping unnecessary subjects and Draco had consented quickly. His NEWT subjects had been Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, DADA, Herbology and Ancient Runes, but he dropped the latter two as they weren't needed. He considered keeping potions, but dropped that as well in the end because his aspirations didn't involve it and there was already Severus, Blaise and Hermione working on potions for the Infirmary.

He found himself mostly enjoying the intense training they all went through most days, gaining more respect for every teenager at Hogwarts after seeing how impressive they were - Hermione and Potter especially. It also helped that the training was incredibly useful and at the rate they were progressing, Draco knew they would be a match for plenty of the death eaters when it came down to the final battle. He only hoped they had the strength to take down the stronger death eaters and Voldemort when they needed to. Before switching sides, his father had always given him the impression that the light side were badly organised and incompetent, with Harry Potter triumphing only through sheer luck and death eater mistakes. Now he'd seen the Order in action, he knew that to be completely untrue, while Harry had obviously had help from his friends and the Order, he was incredibly powerful in his own right.

When it came down to it, Draco knew he'd made the right decision in switching his allegiances from a Dark Lord who cared nothing for his well being to a group seeking to make an equal society and vanquish a menace who was destroying bloodlines left, right and centre. He only had to look at his mother, surrounded by the nice members of her family, or his best friend, wrapped up in the love of his life, to know that he was happy at Hogwarts, with a few true friends for once in his life and free from his father's poisonous influence. The light would triumph and when the war was over Draco would be helping rebuild many lives, his own included and he'd prefer that any day over death or rotting in Azkaban for ideals he didn't believe in. Despite being in the middle of a war Draco was happier than he'd ever been - and he fully intended to stay that way.

* * *

**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; Jim Red Hawk, SweetSweetRevenge, Readerforlife, ladygoddess8 and TsukiyoTenshi.**

**Next chapter, in which Hermione, Sirius, Remus and Ginny run into Bellatrix, will be up in a few days. **


	53. Hermione vs Bellatrix

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter, it's a bit longer than normal.**

* * *

**Hermione vs. Bellatrix**

They'd been on a simple scouting mission when it had happened - Hermione, Ginny, Sirius and Remus were looking around an area that had supposedly been a death eater hideout until only a few days ago and they wanted to see if there was anything left there to give them a hint of the dark side's plans.

They didn't expect to meet Bellatrix Lestrange there.

The four of them had been rooting round and, finding nothing, had exited the building and were outside in the field next to the house when the crack of apparition had been heard. It seemed that Bellatrix was either looking for something or someone and evidently didn't find either, for she was just as shocked as they were to find herself face to face with the Order members. The shock only remained there a second before being replaced with the slightly insane smirk Hermione always associated with her ever since the battle at the department of mysteries. She seemed particularly delighted by the group who were there. "Sirius, my ickle cousin, I thought I'd killed you," she spoke with a sneer, looking down on the four with contempt. Sirius had sent her his own half smirk, "you tried Bella, but you've never been too good at getting rid of me, Mione here got me back out."

Bellatrix's eyes narrowed as they landed on Hermione and she through her head back contemptuously, "my Lord seems so interested in you, but I see nothing special about you, just a mudblood child." Hermione just remained stony faced, " wrong on both counts Bella, I can call you Bella right." She twirled her wand in one hand and ignored the looks of warning on Remus and Ginny's faces, while Sirius just glared at his cousin. "You see Bella, I am not a child, never have been and the blame for that lies with the war and perhaps the use of a time turner for a year of classes, but you don't need to know that. As for your insult of mudblood, remember you are wrong there too. I am descended from all four founders of Hogwarts and that makes me pureblooded if you look at it a certain way - descended from a long line of forced squibs in a way."

Bellatrix laughed, "you think that you, a mere girl, have more power than I do?" Hermione just smiled serenely at the mad woman, "I don't think it Bella, I know it, you are just a shadow of what you could have been. The dark arts and your so called Lord have twisted your mind and made you lose what little sanity you had to begin with. You could have been so great Bella, if you'd been light, but the dark taints your soul and sure you'll have more spells, the power to do terrible things. But that doesn't mean you'll be more powerful, light shines in all the darkness and so the light will always defeat the dark."

Bellatrix mocked her, "is it love then, as the muggle-loving idiot Dumbledore says, love is nothing but a fool's emotion." Hermione just shook her head, "love is an incredibly strong emotion, but it is not everything. The light fight for freedom and for what is right, they are united and fighting purely for what is good. What does your side fight for Bella? You're all serving some madman, you purebloods all go on about being so bloody superior and yet you bow before a half-blood, did you know that. None of you are united and you just want the riches, material ideals. That is why you will never win."

Bellatrix's face went white and her eyes flashed as she heard Hermione insult Voldemort, "how dare you, you besmirch the Dark Lord's name." Hermione noted with pleasure that she didn't try and explain away Voldemort's heritage. "The Dark Lord will triumph and your side will fall and die, I do not care what they say of you, I will make it my mission to ensure you die a slow and painful death for the lies you have spoken." Hermione merely rolled her eyes, "really, you try suggesting that argument to Voldemort and see just how well it goes down, my guess is you'll be in pain for a while. So my friends and I are going to leave now and you aren't going to try and follow and you aren't going to curse us."

She turned to the other three and gestured for them to follow her as she started walking across the field, only to stop when a red light went flying past them and hit Ginny, who collapsed in a heap. She turned round, fire in her eyes, to see a cackling Bellatrix, "ickle girl can't even stop a stunner," she mocked Hermione gleefully, "and that's the sister of your blood traitor boyfriend, he'll be next as soon as I find him, mark my words." Something inside Hermione snapped and she pulled away from the restraining arms of Sirius and Remus to stalk over and stop about a metre in front of Bellatrix. "You shouldn't have done that, I don't take kindly to my friends being hurt and threatened. See I was perfectly content to let you go now, then you could be killed or captured eventually, I wouldn't care. But you've sealed your own fate with those words - the bitch is going down."

Bellatrix looked a little taken aback by Hermione's words, but she drew her wand and got into a duelling position. Hermione was doing the same when she heard Remus shout to her, "Mione, you can't do this, you could get hurt or killed and then where would we all be. Please let's just go." Hermione looked back with a sad look on her face, "I can't go back Remus, I have to do this. Have to do it for Sirius, Neville's parents and anyone else who is dead (or was dead in Sirius' case) because of this crazy bitch." Remus stepped forward, fully planning to grab Hermione and get Sirius to get Ginny so they could apparate the hell out of there. He was prevented by Sirius' firm grip on his arm and looked up to see his best friend shake his head, a frown on his handsome face, "we can't stop her Remus, she's going to do this no matter what and the best thing we can do is make sure Ginny doesn't get hurt in the crossfire. Mione will do what she has to and we'll just hope to Merlin she'll be ok. She's strong enough to do this."

Remus gave a reluctant nod, conceding to Sirius, who did know Hermione better than most people after all. As Hermione stalked over to Bellatrix, Remus knelt down to check on Ginny, who seemed to be ok, though the stunner had been strong. He continued to check her over with basic diagnostics spells and they confirmed what he had guessed - she would be fine, though she'd probably have to suffer a rather bad headache when she woke up. Sirius was watching as Hermione neared Bellatrix, torn between worry for the girl and a pulsating, angry desire for Bellatrix to get what she deserved. Hermione reached Bellatrix and the fight began in earnest.

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There was no bowing, no formalities, just two women fighting to kill and the air crackled with the electricity and anger of the fight. Bellatrix was apparently disregarding her instructions in regards to Hermione, for in her anger she was sending a volley of dangerous and deadly curses at the other witch. Of course, Hermione was matching her strength, though she refused to cast any of the unforgivable curses flying towards her from Bellatrix's wand. She'd already had to cope with killing a death eater using a normal spell, she refused to cast the curse designed solely to kill.

Ginny remained unconscious and Remus stood up next to Sirius to watch the fight with awe. They'd seen Hermione fight in training of course, but they knew now that she definitely held back, probably for everyone's safety. The girl on the field was fluid and graceful in her movements, but vicious in her attack and never seemed to tire. The two men desperately wanted to help their friend, especially when they saw how narrowly some of curses missed her, but they knew it was Hermione's fight and the decorum and rules of duelling meant they could only interfere if it became absolutely necessary. One thing was for sure, Hermione in battle was terrifying and they had to pity the death eaters that would go up against her in the final battle - they would definitely be done for. The fight raged on for about fifteen minutes more, with many close calls on both sides and Remus and Sirius couldn't help but cry out whenever Hermione was hit by something, even though she always returned the favour to Bellatrix.

Hermione, for her part, was fuelling the fight with all the intense hatred she felt for death eater ideals and Bellatrix in particular - the woman had caused so much pain to the Longbottoms and Sirius, who had spent a year in the limbo of the veil thanks to the dark witch. She was a menace to society and Hermione was going to ensure she couldn't hurt any more people. A grin graced her features as Bellatrix backed into a tree Hermione had spelled and jumped back, shocked by the shudder of pain the tree sent through her. The mad witch blasted the tree in her fury and sent another barrage of spells at Hermione, whose shields were struggling a little. For a moment it seemed as if Bellatrix might have the upper hand as she blasted Hermione's shields into oblivion. But her next spell showed otherwise.

It all ended rather quickly when Bellatrix sent an unknown violet light towards Hermione who waved her wand in a series of complex motions with incredible speed and threw a white light in front of herself. This light appeared to reflect the spell and it headed straight back to Bellatrix, who had no time to duck. The dark witch collapsed to the floor and Hermione wobbled unsteadily on her feet, before crashing into Sirius' arms as he caught her gently. A few moments to regain her energy and she was back on her feet. Remus looked apprehensively at Bellatrix on the floor, "is she … dead?" Hermione nodded, "I think so, I recognise that spell from a book of dark magic I was using for research, it causes death by an amplified version of a heart attack and it's a very painful, though quick, end."

She waved her wand over the body and when no light emitted from it she spoke, "yes, she is most decidedly dead." The others breathed a sigh of relief, "but how did you block it Mione, it seemed powerful?" asked Sirius. Hermione smiled, "my own improved version of a shield charm, designed specifically for dark magic, though it would not have blocked the unforgivables." They just looked at her in amazement, but she didn't notice, for she was hurrying over to Ginny to perform a few diagnostic charms of her own on the red head, she knew Remus had done so, but wanted to see for herself. "She's ok, it was just a stunner, but Bellatrix was powerful so she'll be out for about another hour." "Mione," Sirius spoke hesitatingly, "are you ok?" Hermione turned her face towards his, her eyes brimming with tears, "I killed someone again Sirius, it's like Dolohov all over again. I know they deserve it, I know they want to kill me, but I killed them."

Sirius hugged her close, "Mione, she threw the first spell and provoked you, it was self defence and it's not like you used an unforgivable, it was just a reflection shield. She was trying to kill you and her spell, not yours, killed her." Hermione nodded, but she still seemed upset and the look that passed between Sirius and Remus made it clear they didn't think she should apparate in her condition. "Mione," Remus spoke softly to her, "I'm going to take you back to the castle with side along apparition and Sirius will take Ginny. Is that ok?" Hermione nodded and gripped Remus' arm tightly, "but what about the … body?" Sirius glared disdainfully at his evil cousin's body, "we'll send some aurors to clear it up, probably Kingsley and Mad-Eye, who will be delighted at this turn of events I'm sure." It was well known that Mad-Eye had an intense hatred for witch who had killed so many, evaded capture and sent two of his best aurors, Frank and Alice Longbottom, to St Mungo's for life

* * *

Ten minutes later and the four were in Dumbledore's office, having apparated to Hogwarts gates, given the password and done the required spells. The old wizard was looking over his half moon glasses with concern at the unconscious Ginny, exhausted Hermione and grave looking Sirius and Remus - the 'simple scouting mission' had obviously not gone as such. He nodded at their request for an immediate meeting and sent a patronus round to the rest of the Order, all of whom were in the castle. With a few spells a space was cleared in the office and chairs conjured, while they transfigured a small table into a futon for Ginny.

People soon began arriving and ten minutes later the entire Order was assembled. Molly had gotten a little hysterical when she'd seen her still daughter lying on the futon, but was quickly reassured that she was merely unconscious and would be awake in an hour or so. Dumbledore motioned for Hermione, Sirius and Remus to stand and explain the reason they were all there. The two men were looking subtly at Hermione, trying to gauge whether she wanted to break the news. She gave an almost imperceptible nod of the head - she would do it. She decided to get to the point quickly, not wishing to prolong what she would have to say, "Bellatrix Lestrange is dead."

"What … dead … how … who … she's like the most powerful dark witch in ages … why … when?" Hermione couldn't take the questions and she cast a silencing charm before taking a deep breath, "I killed her." When no one seemed to say anything, apparently too in shock, she started from the beginning, detailing their mission, meeting Bellatrix, Ginny being stunned and the fight. They remained quiet once she was finished and it unnerved her terribly, "please, can someone just say something. You aren't making me feel any better about what I did, I know I'm a horrible person so why don't you just throw me out, I killed someone so please just get it over with."

Her words seemed to spring everyone to life for they were suddenly crowding round her tearful form, "don't blame you dear … glad the bitch is dead … self-defence … wish I could have done it … couldn't have done anything else." She smiled at her friends, "I thought you'd all hate me, first Dolohov and now Bellatrix, I mean I know they're death eaters and all, but still." Dumbledore regarded her with soft eyes, "my dear what else could you have done. Both cases were a matter of life and death, all you were doing was protecting yourself." Everyone else nodded their assent and Moody clapped her on the back, "the only good death eater is a dead one," he announced, ignoring Molly's disapproving look at his talking of dead death eaters around her children.

As Moody moved over to speak to Sirius, Hermione found herself almost bowled over as Neville hugged her in an uncharacteristic, but pleasing, show of affection. Hermione found herself smiling again as Neville whispered an emotion filled thank you into her ear and she knew that her actions had made at least one person very happy. While she didn't normally condone happiness over death, Bellatrix was a special case and if anyone had a right to be overjoyed at her death, it was Neville. Justice had put the woman in Azkaban, but she had escaped and Hermione knew that in Neville's mind, as well as the minds of many others, Bellatrix's death was just what she deserved.

Hermione turned to Bellatrix's family to see their reactions, she didn't want anyone hating her. She knew Sirius was pleased, if a little miffed he hadn't been able to do it himself and judging from the look of barely restrained delight on Tonks' face, the energetic auror was just as happy with it as Sirius, especially since it gave Moody - her mentor - closure and retribution for the incapacitation of Frank and Alice Longbottom. She wasn't sure what Draco and Narcissa's reactions would be as she turned to look at them with trepidation. Draco looked impassive, but that could mean anything, he was so difficult to read and Narcissa had the same look upon her face. Draco gazed at her for a moment and then stuck out his hand, "my aunt always was insane, never really liked her. I'm kind of glad you did it Granger, I wouldn't have wanted it to be me, I don't know if I could have managed."

Hermione couldn't help the relief that spilled onto her facial features as she took Draco's offered hand, but she knew there was still Narcissa to consider. The stately blonde studied her for a moment before nodding, "I loved my sister when we were young, I still do to some extent, but she was blinded by the Dark Lord and her sanity gone long before Azkaban. I am a little upset, but I do not blame you Hermione." Hermione gave a soft smile, Narcissa was upset, but she would heal and she knew why Hermione had killed Bellatrix. As Bill pulled Hermione in for a tight hug, as if he never wanted to let her go (and she couldn't blame him after what had been happening lately), Hermione reflected that while she did have regrets, they were not terrible ones and her happiness at other actions far outweighed them. After all, no one could make it through life without some regret - they just had to learn to deal with it and that was what Hermione intended to do, with Bill and her friends right by her side.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; TsukiyoTenshi, ladygoddess8, Readerforlife and LoveIt123.**

**The next chapter, in which the Order begin to prepare for the final battle, will be up in a few days.**


	54. Preparing For Battle

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

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**Preparing For Battle**

The battle preparations were pushed ahead when Snape came to them with news from Voldemort's camp after Bellatrix's death. Dumbledore didn't even waste time hearing the information beforehand and called a full meeting for all those in the castle immediately. The unscheduled meeting put them all on edge, they were never called unless there was important information to give and these days that usually meant bad news. Once everyone had arrived Dumbledore invited Snape to speak about what he had discovered and he began. "We were all called to the Dark Lord once he became aware of Bellatrix's death and the circumstances surrounding it. To say he was angry is an understatement, the loss of one of his best lieutenants is a huge blow to his side and a few of the lesser death eaters were killed or tortured just for bringing him the news."

He paused for a bit and Hermione felt a little worried, had her killing Bellatrix meant that she was now marked for death, no matter what her heritage. "However, when he heard it was Hermione who had done the deed he actually seemed impressed," continued Snape, "he seems to wish to have her more than ever, the heir of the four founders with huge power and the ability to defeat one of the most powerful witches of the decade. He seems to wish for you to take her place as top female on the dark side and has also expressed an interest in you becoming his … queen." He added the last part with distaste plain in his tone. Hermione felt ill, "eww, you aren't serious are you Severus, that is disgusting. I think I'm going to be sick." Bill put his arm round her in a comforting gesture and Snape nodded sadly, "I'm afraid it is true Hermione, but we will defeat him, he won't destroy our world." He spoke with a conviction and passion most rarely heard in Snape and it uplifted everyone's spirits.

The final part of Severus' news was that Voldemort would attack during the evening in one week. One would expect that the group would go into hysterics, panic or become scared by the news. But there was none of that, the Order were strangely calm and collected. The truth was that they were all sick of war and wished to just get the end over with so they could continue on with their lives. Nobody seemed surprised by the lack of response, though they were a little shocked when Dumbledore made the announcement that he would not be leading the battle or the plans; Hermione and Harry were to be joint leaders. She was shocked at this too, shocked and honoured by the trust Dumbledore had placed in Harry and herself.

There were a couple of concerns voiced not about ability, for they knew Hermione and Harry far outstripped many of them in power, but about placing such a burden on two children. Hermione answered their worries solemnly, "we've never been children, not since our first year. We've seen terrible things and we've all lost people we're close to. Everyone wants this war over and Harry and I will do our utmost to bring about the destruction of Voldemort." This little speech was met by enthusiastic applause and Hermione sat back down, hiding her blushing face in Bill's chest. The rest of the meeting was filled with making plans and giving out a few assignments. Remus was to go to the werewolves to attempt to convince them that if they weren't going to fight for the Order they could at least be neutral. Hermione worried about his going, knowing it to be dangerous, but she couldn't help but be glad that Bill didn't have to go too since he was too busy making sure the goblins wouldn't join Voldemort's side. Since they all knew it was too much to ask that the goblins fight for the light due to generations of shaky relations, they were keen for them to merely remain neutral.

Kingsley, Tonks and Arthur were contacting anybody in the Ministry who was a lesser member of the Order, or a supporter and telling them about the time they were to come to the great hall in Hogwarts for the battle briefing. It was a time consuming task as they had to complete unbreakable vows with each Ministry worker who agreed to prevent anything leaking out to Voldemort. They'd discussed having Moody help, but since he was needed for strategic planning that wasn't possible. In hindsight they guessed it wouldn't have helped much since Moody tended to have a bit of an intimidating presence that wouldn't have helped their cause.

Ginny, Luna and Neville were busy with the same sort of assignment, except they were contacting the members of the D.A who were of age to see how many would come and fight with them. They'd had replies from many of them and most were in the affirmative. This definitely increased the morale of the group, the D.A might be young, but they were definitely excellent witches and wizards. Whenever they weren't busy the adults continued to train with the teenagers until they were all more than proficient in duelling technique. Dumbledore, though impressed, still lamented privately about the war which had led to the necessity of the young people becoming such impressive fighters.

The problem they were having was how to defeat Voldemort. That particular part of the plan could not be made widely known as Voldemort could use occlumency to discover it. This wasn't an issue with the main plan as it was merely a simple and straightforward attack and Voldemort would only be able to discover it when the battle had commenced and it was of no use. But their plan to destroy Voldemort would not take place until a little while into the battle and so He could have the opportunity of finding it in someone's mind, especially if he used his connection with Harry. That meant that until the last moment only those who were outstanding at occlumency could know of the plan. This list was only three names long; Hermione, Dumbledore and Severus. Though these three minds were brilliant they had yet to discover a way to destroy Voldemort and were working all hours of the day in their attempt to do so.

* * *

A small group of the Order were working on strategy and this group consisted of Ron, Moody, Sirius and Harry. The plan was simple, wait for the death eaters to break down the wards and enter the grounds and then place up anti-apparition barriers to prevent their leaving. The Order and their volunteers would all be waiting in the grounds to attack as the death eaters entered, they wished to have the castle damage be as small as possible. With the hope that most of the battle would be on the grounds they were planning on setting up one of the classrooms furthest from the grounds as a makeshift hospital wing, the real one was too close to the entrance of the school. Some of the Order were busy making portkeys, one each would be given to each fighter and they were keyed to this temporary hospital wing. Anyone injured would go there and then Madame Pomfrey would floo them to Saint Mungo's if necessary.

That part of the plan was simple, the main job they had was to work out how they would kill Nagini and who would do it, for she was the last Horcrux and had to be destroyed before Harry and Hermione could attempt their annihilation of Voldemort. Eventually the four of them ventured into the Chamber of Secrets to take some basilisk fangs. One each would be given to Hagrid, Grawp and Moody, the former two because of their part giant blood, which would help protect them and the latter because he was tough and volunteered for the assignment. The three were instructed that one of them had to kill Nagini and though only Moody knew the full story about the Horcruxes they agreed and everyone knew they could trust them to somehow get it done.

The strategic group weren't particularly happy about knowing nothing about the plan to destroy Voldemort, but Dumbledore assured them that the strategy was more for the beginning of the battle and to ensure there was a way to get people safely out if they were badly hurt (the portkeys). They also knew how important it was that no one other than Hermione, Dumbledore and Severus knew about the plan - if Voldemort found even a hint in someone's mind then it could possibly ruin everything.

* * *

They had a final meeting of just the main Order the night before the main battle to go over everything and make sure everyone knew what they were doing. The first thing was for the argument to be settled regarding whether Ginny would be able to take part in the battle. It was supposed to be those of age only and since it would have been Ginny's sixth year and her birthday was in August she was not yet seventeen. Luna, who was in the same year as Ginny, was fighting, but she had a January birthday and so was seventeen already. Ginny had argued passionately with her mother, who was the main opponent of her only daughter taking part in the battle. She'd told her mother that she was only a few months off seventeen and that she was more than ready to fight. "Everyone I love will be there, I'm not just getting stuck waiting for news on my own. Harry, Ron and Hermione started doing dangerous things when they were eleven and it's not like I'm not prepared." Nobody who had seen Ginny's hexes could argue with that. In the end her mother yielded with tears and cries that if her baby girl got hurt then whoever did it would wish they were in hell. Ginny smiled triumphantly and Arthur had just shaken his head, wishing his wife was a little less emotional, yet still feeling sad that it had come to the point where sixteen and seventeen year olds were fighting a war for their own freedom and lives.

The next order of business was for Hermione to present battle predictions with her arithmantic calculations. She stood up to face them all and they were relieved to see her look rather heartened. "I re-did my calculations this morning, adding in the new elements of the Felix Felicis potion, Bellatrix Lestrange's death and the rough figures of reinforcements we have coming courtesy of the recruitment workers; Tonks, Kingsley, Arthur, Ginny, Luna, Neville and Remus." She paused to show some diagrams of arithmantic equations, though only Dumbledore, Remus, Bill and Kingsley could understand them. "Our chances of killing Nagini are hovering at 98%, which is definitely a good sign. With the plan Dumbledore, Severus and myself have finally come up with, the chances of defeating Voldemort lie at 89%. These are good statistics but I have to inform you that there is a 51% chance that either Harry or myself could die while attempting to defeat Voldemort, though only a 17% chance that both of us will die."

She looked at Harry as she shared that information and saw him only nod his head in resignation, he'd always known the odds of his death could be pretty high and these ones were definitely an improvement on ones Hermione had calculated previously. Some of the Order members looked worried but Hermione tried to reassure them, "look I know you are all worried but it will be ok. The chances are that we will almost certainly defeat Voldemort and that is what we're here to do. We will suffer losses, it is inevitable, but I for one believe that I would die happy knowing I'd been a part of making the wizarding world safe and free again."

She sat down immediately after her passionate words, blushing red at her boldness and gripping Bill's hand till it turned white. Dumbledore merely nodded, "marvellously said Miss Granger, now I believe we have some potion to distribute before our reinforcements arrive tomorrow morning. Hermione nodded, her cheeks still flushed from her blush, while Severus conjured a box filled with vials of what seemed to be molten gold - the Felix Felicis he and Hermione had been working on religiously for the past weeks. Each vial was carefully labelled and had a name scrawled on each in Severus' spiky black handwriting so they could be sure each person got the amount decided.

The vials were passed round to each person carefully with the only fuss being the confusion of just who was Fred and who was George, that is until Ginny rolled her eyes and reminded them all of the freckle on Fred's ear and the birthmark on George's shoulder. The twins had shot their sister a glare for ruining their fun, but one look from Snape, who did not appreciate messing around when it involved potions, silenced their protests and the rest of the vials were distributed. Hermione tucked her own into the hidden pocket of her robes, glad that she and Severus had remembered to put anti-break and cushioning charms on the vials - especially as she saw Ron tap his with interest and drop it into his bag in a move that would have easily broken any unprotected vial.

Dumbledore rounded off the meeting with more reminders about plans and stations for the battle the next day, as everyone tried very hard to stop the nerves settling in. Hermione managed to keep worry off her face by keeping hold of Bill and memorising each face in the room, just in case. Once she'd looked at everyone she realised, rather prematurely, that she was been a little pessimistic and so tried to keep her face neutral - she couldn't manage a smile - as the meeting broke up. She watched as everyone headed for either their quarters or the dorms and saw Remus help a heavily pregnant Tonks from her chair. The metamorphous was 39 weeks along and in no condition to fight - Hermione wondered if she would go to her mother's house during the battle, but decided she would ask Remus in the morning.

She would spend the evening with Bill and the next morning with her friends. She only hoped this would not be her last night on earth.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; ladygoddess8, Readerforlife, TsukiyoTenshi, Bronze and elfsquire. In response to Bronze's question, you have to have a user to send private messages.**

**For those wondering about the piece of Voldemort's soul in Harry, it doesn't exist in my story. There are seven pieces of Voldemort's soul: One resides in his body and the other six in Horcruxes. To remind you, these horcruxes are: Tom Riddle's diary, the ring, Hufflepuff's cup, Slytherin's locket, Ravenclaw's diadem and Nagini.**

**Anyone who wonders what the plan to actually destroy Voldemort is, well you'll just have to wait three chapters since the next one will be 'A Surprise Arrival', followed by 'Interlude: Harry' and the plan isn't told until the chapter after that Harry interlude when the final battle is shown.**

**The next chapter, where everyone experiences a surprise arrival, will be posted in a few days. See if you can guess who/what the surprise arrival is.**


	55. A Surprise Arrival

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Thank you to ladygoddess8, who made some guesses as to who the surprise arrival was - they were great guesses, but unfortunately none of them are the right answer. However, I hope you enjoy the character who joins us this chapter.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

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**A Surprise Arrival**

Hermione had spent her evening with Bill, wrapped up together on the sofa in his quarters, talking softly and stealing kisses, trying to forget about the battle the next day would bring. She'd gone to bed at ten in the evening, wanting to get lots of sleep so she would be at her best for the battle the next day. Luckily, it hadn't been one of those nights filled with insomnia and nightmares, for she had gone to sleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Her dreams blurred into one - a montage of colours, figures and voices. In her unconscious mind she just felt great relief for the lack of blood and death in her dreams, hoping it might be a good omen, but refusing to think of anything involving seers and damn Divination.

She was jolted awake when she felt the lamps in the room flare to life and she groaned as she sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. Ginny and Luna were both doing the same and Hermione couldn't help but be a little confused - she was so tired and it couldn't be morning just yet. She turned to the doorway to find Mrs Weasley there, a beam on her face, "get up girls, quickly now." Hermione looked at her watch - two in the morning - "Mrs Weasley, you do realise it's the middle of the night, what in Merlin's name is going on." Mrs Weasley looked flustered, "it's Tonks, she's gone into labour!"

Hermione was suddenly wide awake, "right now, oh Merlin, of all the nights -" she dragged herself out of bed as Ginny and Luna were still rubbing their eyes and shot over to her closet, grabbing the first clothes she saw and scrambling into the bathroom to change. She hopped out a minute later, trying to stick her shoe on while brushing her hair at the same time. Ginny and Luna were standing now, rather dazed as they rubbed the sleep from their eyes, while Mrs Weasley tried to chivvy them along. Hermione, not wanting to wait, told Mrs Weasley she was going on ahead and hurried down to the common room.

She entered just as Harry did and they left Gryffindor Tower together, hurrying towards the chambers where Tonks and Remus resided. They didn't speak much, their brains still hazy from sleep, but there was an energy as they half walked, half ran, the baby was much anticipated and Hermione couldn't wait to see it. They entered the sitting room of the Lupin's quarters to find only Sirius there, his face a mixture of anticipation and worry. "Poppy and Remus are in with Tonks," he said, "I don't think I've ever heard my little cousin scream so loudly, she was cursing Remus and everything. Luckily someone had the sense to put up a silencing charm on the room after she threatened to castrate him, but when he stuck his head out to update me five minutes ago he said her squeezing his hand had broken it three times already - Poppy had to fix it."

Hermione laughed, though she did feel sorry for poor Remus - Tonks could be vicious when she wanted to and the pain of labour couldn't be helping her temper much. Sirius told them everything he knew about the labour; it had been going on for just under three hours, but they had only begun calling people now since it seemed close to the birth. Apart from that, Sirius didn't know much else, not caring for the gory details or the medical jargon. They were soon joined by the rest of the Order and there was an air of anticipation as they waited for news of the baby, along with chatter over what name the soon-to-be-parents would choose from the ones they favoured and whether it would be a boy or a girl. Sirius had suggested opening a pool for bets, but one scathing look from Hermione shot that idea down. She thought he should be grateful that Mrs Weasley had gone to the bathroom and not heard his suggestion.

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Forty-five minutes after Hermione had arrived at Remus and Tonks' quarters, Remus finally emerged, his scarred face tired, but illuminated and made handsome by a huge smile. "It's a boy," he announced to the eager crowd, before turning to Hermione, Sirius, Harry and Kingsley, "will you four come in first to see him?" They nodded enthusiastically and headed into the room, Hermione pausing to throw her arms round Remus in a hug and speak her congratulations. They found the bedroom quiet and Tonks, her hair returned to its natural mousy brown by the effort of the labour, holding a small bundle wrapped in blue in her arms - a boy.

Hermione could see a little tuft of red hair poking out of the blanket, but when she looked again it was bright blue. She turned to Tonks with a grin, "he's a metamorphous too then?" she asked. Tonks nodded, a content smile on her face as she hugged her son close. Sirius grinned at his best friend, "so what's our mini Moony's name then?" he asked. Remus looked to Tonks, who nodded once, "we've decided to call him Ted, or Teddy if you like, after Dora's dad. Teddy Harry Lupin," he told them, looking at Harry, whose eyes began to glisten a little - though he would deny it later. "We hoped you'd be Teddy's godfather," said Remus, "after all, you are James' son and practically family - Dora agrees too, thinks there's no one better." Harry nodded ecstatically, "I'd be honoured to be little Teddy's godfather," he said, smiling broadly as Tonks gently passed him Teddy to hold.

Tonks turned to Hermione as Harry was rocking Teddy, "we hoped you'd be his godmother Hermione, you've been such a good friend and you're like a sister to Remus and I - we don't know how we'd handle Sirius without you," she laughed. Hermione felt her own eyes brim over and she leant over to hug first Tonks and then Remus, "I'd love to," she told them. Without another word she joined Harry and began cooing over little Teddy, gushing as he waved his tiny fists in the air and smiling as his hair changed colour erratically.

Remus headed over to Sirius as Kingsley went to speak to Tonks, "I hope you don't mind Harry being the godfather Sirius, I'd have liked to make you both one, but since you already have Harry -" Sirius cut him off with a grin, "I don't mind Moony, I've got Harry as a godson so that makes Teddy my great-godson in a way. Anyway, godparents are supposed to teach morals and all that crap, Harry and Hermione are good for that and it means I can be the cool uncle who spoils the little tyke rotten." Remus shook his head, "I dread to think what you'll end up teaching my son, most likely how to pick up girls, ride motorcycles and drink everyone else under the table. I only hope Harry and Mione manage to instil some responsibility into the boy - and that he didn't get Dora's sense of balance."

Tonks, who had heard her husband's last remark, scowled darkly at him, "Remus Lupin, you better not be implying anything bad or you'll be on the couch for a month." Remus closed his mouth immediately, shooting a dark look at Sirius, who muttered "you are so whipped," under his breath. Hermione covered her laugh with a cough and took Teddy from Harry - he was a beautiful baby and seemed to currently be showing Remus' traits as he remained quiet, never crying and only whimpering slightly when he wanted something. She cuddled him close for a few minutes before handing him back to his mother and leaving the room so the rest of the Order could go and coo over him.

As the others went to see the new baby, Hermione spoke to Madame Pomfrey, who assured her of what she had told Remus and Tonks - Teddy might be a little bit more irritable on full moons, but he would never transform and would experience only the positive tendencies of lycanthropy such as improved speed and heightened senses. Hermione, like Teddy's parents and the rest of the Order, was immensely relieved by this information - so few werewolves mated with those who were not also werewolves and they had been unsure whether the baby would possess the lycan gene. Luckily, Madame Pomfrey had discovered that only female werewolves could pass on the gene and so any child of Remus and Tonks' would be fine. Everyone was pleased - the idea of a baby going through the werewolf transformation was horrible, the chances were the child wouldn't survive it.

The crowd in Remus and Tonks' quarters dwindled after a while, as everyone drifted back to bed - there was a battle scheduled for the next day after all and though they had the opportunity to sleep in a little, since Voldemort would attack in the evening, they all wanted to be well rested. Eventually, the only ones remaining were those who had first visited the happy couple and their new son. Kingsley excused himself after a few minutes to go to bed and Sirius followed soon after. Finally, Hermione and Harry said goodnight to their new godson, thanked Remus and Tonks once again for the honour bestowed upon them and set off for Gryffindor Tower.

They chatted happily as they walked, despite their tired states, talking about all the things they would teach Teddy as he grew up and trying not to think about the fact that one or both of them might not live to see it. By the time they reached the Tower, everyone else who stayed there was back in their beds and fast asleep. Hermione bid Harry goodnight in the common room before heading up to the girl's dorm. She changed into her pyjamas quickly and quietly, despite the fact that both Ginny and Luna could probably sleep through an earthquake most of the time. As she lay in bed and drifted off into dreamland, her last thoughts were of a better wizarding world where children like Teddy could grow up with both parents and in an unprejudiced world.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; TsukiyoTenshi, Readerforlife and ladygoddess8. **

**The next chapter, in which the Final Battle dawns and we have an interlude from Harry's POV, will be up in a few days.**

**Links to banners for some of my stories, including this one, can be found on my user page.**

**On a rather random note, if you're looking for some great Harry Potter fics, go to the following authors, trust me their stories are amazing; The Golden Duo 22, angelically-devilish, Lexi Lupin, , Lizard23, vamp1987, Tinke Wolfe, grangerous, ., The-Dark-Side-Of-Eden, Ambrosien and Lady Miya**


	56. Interlude: Harry

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

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**Interlude: Harry**

The morning of what would be the Final Battle dawned clear and cool, epitomising the opposite of what Harry was feeling, which was slight panic, worry and anger. The panic and worry came from his fear that they wouldn't be ready, that Voldemort would triumph and ruin their lives. The anger was directed towards Voldemort and his death eaters, for what they had done, the many lives ruined by their actions. But that was the pessimistic side of him talking and he tried to smother this side with his optimistic one as much as possible. If he could think positively then hopefully the outcome would be positive - so he thought of the skilled Order, their plans, the Felix Felicis and the reinforcements that would come to help them as the Final Battle raged.

It was ten in the morning when he woke, a little later than they had all planned to be up, but with the excitement of Teddy's birth the previous night, it had been an unspoken agreement that they would get up an hour or two later than they had decided previously. Harry paused at those thoughts, still in shock at being named godfather to little Teddy Lupin and still prone to breaking out in a smile whenever he thought of it. He dressed quickly and hurried down the stairs out of the dorm and into the common room, finding Hermione there with a huge book in her hands. She was already dressed and looked impeccable - he guessed that she must have been up for at least an hour and wondered why she wasn't tired, after all she had gone to bed at the same time as him and even after extra sleep Harry was a little tired.

She looked up from the tome as she heard him enter and smiled when she saw him, "morning Harry, how are you?" Harry was unsure how to answer, not wanting to scare his best friend. Unfortunately she had the uncanny ability to read him, knowing exactly when he was lying and so he decided it was best to just tell her the truth. "To be honest, I'm absolutely terrified, I know we have a plan and all your equations give us good odds at defeating the bastard, but I don't want to think about the losses we might sustain - I don't know how I'd cope if some of you died, you're basically my family."

His best friend gave him a smile, "oh Harry, I know you're worried, but one way or another, we will end this tonight and tomorrow will bring a whole new world - hopefully a better one. We're well prepared and we have some amazing duellers on our side. We have a solid plan and you don't need to worry about Bellatrix anymore," she said with a slightly satisfied smile on her face. Harry had to grin at Hermione's words, it was nice to see Hermione lose the worry she had over Bellatrix's death - Harry was not a advocate of killing, but there were always some cases where it was justified and he was firmly of the opinion that Bellatrix Lestrange was one of them. "So why aren't you tired Hermione, you went to bed at the same time as me and look like you've been up a while?"

She shrugged, "my whole school career I've done more work than practically everyone else, then this year there's been training, research and missions. By now, less sleep is just ingrained into my system - I can manage on a lot less sleep than you without showing tiredness - plus, I took a strengthening solution I had to hand to give me an extra boost, I'm sure Severus will give them out to most people before the battle." Harry shook his head, he didn't know if he'd ever get used to Hermione referring to Snape as 'Severus', the man had been a huge help to them all and Harry had mostly forgiven how he'd treated the trio in their earlier years at Hogwarts. However, as with Sirius, Harry knew there was too much bad blood between him and Snape for them to ever be true friends.

"I'm going down to the Great Hall to get breakfast and see if any of the Order are there, do you want to come too?"

She shook her head, "I got something from the kitchens earlier and I'm just running over some equations and spells again. Perhaps I'll come and find you again in a few hours, if not then I'll see you at the final briefing this afternoon."

Harry nodded and left Hermione to her work, exiting Gryffindor Tower and preparing to head down to the Great Hall. He paused for a moment though, calling Dobby to ask that the elf ensure that Hermione ate lunch - she was prone to forget base needs like food and sleep when enthralled in her books and Harry knew she'd need every ounce of strength for the battle. After Dobby had promised to make sure Hermione ate, "even if Dobby has to call Master Bill to be sure," Harry headed down, following the aroma of food he could smell in the Great Hall.

* * *

Harry entered the Great Hall to find it fairly empty - the only people there were Dumbledore and McGonagall, talking quietly together and then Sirius, who was watching Remus and Tonks with some amusement. Tonks had Teddy in her arms and she appeared to be arguing with Remus about something, so Harry headed over to Sirius to discover what the problem was.

"What's wrong with those two?" he asked, "they just had a baby and now they're arguing."

Sirius chuckled, "Remus doesn't want Tonks to fight in the battle, says he doesn't want to risk Teddy being left with no parents. Tonks, on the other hand, wants to take him to Andromeda's and fight too. I don't know why Remus is even bothering to argue - Tonks is very independent and she won't let him fight if she isn't as well."

Harry listened now and he could hear the pair's voices;

"Dora, I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Honestly Remus, you can't expect me to stay at home while you fight."

"… don't want Teddy to grow up knowing neither of his parents if things go badly."

Harry turned to Sirius, "I suppose I can see Remus' point of view, after all we don't know what will happen tonight - no idea who could die - and Remus is liable to be overprotective of Tonks. I know Bill tried to persuade Hermione to stay somewhere a bit safer, though his effort was rather half-hearted. She shot him down by arguing that she might be needed to defeat Voldemort and he gave up after that. I reckon no one wants anyone else fighting, we don't want our friends to die, but in the end it's their own choice."

Sirius nodded, "Remus will figure it out sooner or later," he said as the wizard in question gave a tight nod, while Tonks smiled, and the pair walked out of the Great Hall with Teddy, "sooner rather than later by the look of it," he told Harry with a smile.

Harry stayed with Sirius a while, just talking and occasionally mentioning some detail of the battle as different members of the Order came and went for the next hour. Few people realised just how precious the time he spent talking to Sirius was, especially after the experience of losing his godfather and being without him for a whole year. Words would never describe just how grateful Harry was to Hermione for bringing him back, but he had a feeling that his best friend knew anyway. It had been a little bit of a shock to discover that Sirius had slept with Hermione and he had been perfectly ready to scream at the pair of them, until Hermione had explained her reasoning. He knew the worry war could bring and he couldn't really blame Hermione for asking a close friend to help her so she would be sure of never dying a virgin. Besides, he could never stay mad at his godfather or best friend for too long and with everything Hermione had done for him over the years, he would not condemn her choice.

Despite what Voldemort and his death eaters might think, Harry was perfectly aware of the fact that he would never had survived up until now without Hermione and Ron - Devil's Snare, the giant chess set, the logic puzzle, the Basilisk, saving Sirius and Buckbeak with the timeturner, getting through the Triwizard Tournament and destroying Horcruxes - it was all done with the aid of his two best friends and he would never forget that. Voldemort was wrong in saying that Harry was weak and lucky, for he was a powerful, capable wizard. But he wasn't afraid to have help from his friends, just as they weren't afraid to give it, and he knew it was through working together that they would manage to defeat Voldemort once and for all.

* * *

Harry left Sirius just before noon to go and train in the Room of Requirement with Charlie, Remus, Kingsley, Luna and a triumphant Tonks (she had persuaded Remus to stop trying to prevent her fighting). They informed him that Teddy had been taken to Andromeda's house and that she and her husband Ted were taking care of him - Tonks was happy in the knowledge that her parents would take care of her son well. They duelled and practiced spells for close to two hours, with Dobby popping in once to reassure Harry that Hermione had eaten. Ron arrived halfway through their practice, still looking a little sleepy but sharpening up once he began fighting. Harry spoke to him a little after training was over and the reminisced about their previous years. Ron was a brilliant friend, perhaps not as intelligent as Hermione or as effortless with duelling as Harry, but loyal (apart from the mishap at the beginning of the Triwizard Tournament) and always there when Harry needed him. Anyway, who wanted a perfect best friend, they'd be truly annoying and Harry was thankful in a way for faults - Hermione's slight know-it-all attitude and dislike of flying (a flaw in Harry's opinion), Ron's temper and occasional thick-headedness and Harry's own inability to listen to rules and his sometimes hero complex (can we say Department of Mysteries) - because the faults made them all who they were.

Harry spoke a while with Ron, before exiting the Room of Requirement and going to meet Ginny. They spent a few hours together, trying to forget the evil they would have to face that evening and instead remembering all the good memories they had, especially of their relationship. Harry didn't know what he'd do without Ginny - best friends, godfathers, friends who were practically family and surrogate parents were all well and good, but sometimes he just needed the understanding of his one true love - which he knew for sure that Ginny was. She was strong and capable and beautiful, everything he'd ever wanted and needed. She wasn't sappy like Cho had been, growing up with six brothers did that to a girl, and when he kissed her it felt like the best thing in the world. When Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup in third year, he thought he'd never feel anything better - until the first time he'd kissed Ginny. No one knew, but he had a ring in his vault - he'd found it there after a more thorough search of the Potter family vault at the end of his sixth year. The note attached told him it had been the Potter engagement ring his mother had worn, which had been placed in the vault just before the Potters went into hiding, "just in case." Harry had cried when he'd read the note, not only because the words were tangible proof that his parents had lived, but also because of the premonition they appeared to have about their deaths. As long as they both made it out of the war, he would give her that ring and hope to Merlin that she deemed him worthy enough of her.

It was those thoughts filling his head as he left the Room of Requirement with Ginny after a little 'alone time.' They were heading down to the Great Hall now, where the back-up recruits would be congregating, ready for the final pep talk in about half an hour. Harry felt the shrunken Felix Felicis in the shrunken mokeskin pouch round his neck weigh heavily on his conscience, but he knew it would have been unfeasible for Hermione and Snape to create enough for everyone and they stood a better chance at defeating Voldemort with its aid, even if not everyone was in possession of it. He reached the bottom of the staircase, Ginny's hand still grasped in his, stopping short in confusion as he saw what appeared to be the entire Weasley family minus Ginny congregated in the Entrance Hall, all seeming to speak at once. It was Ginny who made the first move towards them, "oi, what are you lot shouting about, we've got a meeting in the Great Hall soon?" The Weasleys turned towards Harry and Ginny as one and stepped away from a sole person in the middle of the group, a sheepish look on his freckled face. Both Harry and Ginny gasped when the person stepped forward and gave a tentative hello.

It was Percy.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; Readerforlife, TsukiyoTenshi, ladygoddess8, Lisa and The Sexy Muggle Librarian. Thanks also to The Sexy Muggle Librarian for her review of chapter 46 and for pointing out an error I have now managed to fix.**

**The next chapter, in which the Final Battle takes place, will be up in a few days.**


	57. The Final Battle

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.**

**The reason Snape defected from Voldemort is the same as it was in the Deathly Hallows book. Voldemort never specifically asks why, but he guesses that its something to do with Lily (Snape had asked him to save her after all) and that is why it isn't mentioned implicitly. Also, I don't know if Harry could be a descendant of Godric Gryffindor, but for the sake of this story he is.**

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**The Final Battle**

It turned out that Percy had been considering returning to his family for some time, ever since he'd heard the news of Penelope Clearwater's death. The only thing preventing him returning earlier was his pride and the worry that his family just wouldn't accept him again. This turned out to be false and Mrs Weasley welcomed him with open arms, tears running down her cheeks. The others were a little cold at first, but Percy was family and even Fred, George and Ron found it difficult to be hostile after a few minutes. Percy was swiftly caught up on all the news, nodding at Harry and sensibly refraining from offering a threat should he hurt Ginny (he knew he hadn't earned that right yet). He merely raised an eyebrow when he discovered she was dating Bill, probably due to the age difference, but to his credit he smiled, offered his congratulations and engaged her in a short conversation on nothing in particular.

After about half an hour, Sirius stuck his head out of the Great Hall to tell them that everyone was here and that they needed to make their way in to listen to the final pep talk. They made their way inside the hall, where Dumbledore was standing on a dais at the edge of the hall that someone must have conjured up. He waved to Hermione and Harry and they went to join him on the stage - as the two leading the battle they would need to address the fighters for the light. Hermione looked out over the crowd, seeing the main core of the Order mixed in with the back-ups that had arrived, such as Dedalus Diggle, Emmeline Vance, Aberforth Dumbledore, Mundungus Fletcher, Amelia Bones and Hagrid, who had just returned from persuading the giants to remain neutral. Also present were members of the D.A. who were of age such as Cho Chang, Michael Corner, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnett, Lee Jordan, Katie Bell, Dean Thomas, Lavender Brown and Seamus Finnegan.

Hermione had to roll her eyes as she saw Lavender bat her eyelids at Ron, of all the times and places she had to pick now to flirt - ridiculous girl. She caught Bill's eye and winked at him, glad that she had a guy she really loved. She'd spent the afternoon with him and they had finally taken the plunge and had sex. Saying it like that in her mind seemed so crass, it was more like they made love, she'd had sex with Sirius and while she loved him, she wasn't _in_ love with him and what was between her and Bill would always be different. She was glad they'd taken that step, she didn't want to go into battle without truly knowing him and he'd felt the same way. Still, she thought she'd refrain from mentioning it to anyone until after the battle, she didn't need to incite girly squeals from Ginny and Tonks just now. It was probably best if she just never mentioned it to the boys, they'd get all overprotective and she didn't want a repeat of when she'd begun dating Bill because he didn't deserve to get scared out of his wits by wand-happy wizards.

She shook herself out of thoughts of Bill and began to pay attention as Dumbledore spoke, "welcome my friends, as you know, tonight is the night Voldemort will attack and we will defend ourselves and hopefully rid the world of this monster."

His words were greeted with cheers and he paused for a moment before speaking again, "you've all been handed out your assignments and I request that you try to stick within their boundaries. I also ask that you refrain from trying to discover the plan to destroy Voldemort. Due to his nature as a Legilimens, the plan is known only by the three people with sufficiently advanced occlumency barriers; myself, Severus Snape and Hermione Granger. The plan will be revealed at the right moment, in order for Mr Potter to help, but until then I ask that you merely attempt to defend the castle and remove Voldemort's death eaters from the fight. I shall hand you over to Mr Potter and Miss Granger now."

The crowd turned expectantly to Hermione and Harry, so Hermione slid her gaze onto Harry, who seemed to understand her silent message and began talking. Harry had grown in confidence, especially after his stint as teacher in the DA, unlike Hermione, who wasn't particularly comfortable in front of large groups of people. From the bits she followed, Harry's speech was very inspiring, he seemed to have developed a talent for public speaking. She mused that as long as they won the war and survived, he would probably need that talent for all the speeches the 'Boy-Who-Lived' would be pressed to make.

Whatever Harry said did the trick and by the end he had roused the crowd from an apprehensive group to a light army ready to take on Voldemort and win. She looked to Dumbledore, who smiled at her, both knew what a good idea it had been to have Harry give the speech. Her best friend finished speaking about half an hour before Voldemort was due to arrive with his forces and so, after a final reminder of important spells and the portkeys keyed to the Hospital area, people were sent off to their different areas, ready to face the dark forces. Hermione was with the core group, the ones who would be focused on Voldemort and his most powerful minions. She'd had to leave Bill, who was going to be in a different area, but she made sure to be as positive as possible, kissing him extra hard and ignoring the wolf-whistles coming from Sirius, Fred and George's direction.

Hermione then began to make her way to her own central position, trying very hard to tell herself that she would see Bill again, just as soon as the battle was over. She took up battle stance, tense and with her wand at the ready. The rest of the central team; Harry, Dumbledore, Sirius, Remus, Tonks and Kingsley, did so as well. Severus had been called by Voldemort and would arrive with the dark forces, turning onto them as soon as Dumbledore gave the signal. Hagrid, Moody and Grawp each had a handful of Basilisk fangs and were positioned in separate areas to try and ensure that at least one of them would get to Nagini. She could see her friends positioned all around, ready to fight … and to die if necessary. She saw Ginny, standing with Luna, Neville, Blaise and Draco, give Harry a wink and she could only hope her vibrant friend remained so. She didn't know what Harry would do if Ginny died and she wondered, not for the first time, if they would have been better sending Ginny to the makeshift Hospital Wing, rather than directly on the battlefield. But the youngest Weasley was stubborn and their chances would have been practically non-existent.

They all stood in their positions, barely moving and waiting for the first sign of the attack. Those most susceptible to magical influence; Hermione, Harry and Dumbledore, felt it first - the tiniest shift in the magic surrounding Hogwarts that let them know that the safety wards were being removed. All the wards which made the castle invisible to Muggles were being left up and so the destruction of the other wards was more difficult to notice, but they knew it was happening. Ten minutes after the shift in the wards had begun, everyone felt a rush of magic wash over them and knew instinctively that the protective wards were down. They saw a crowd of shadows move towards them and a slew of patronuses erupted from wands to warn all groups of the approaching danger. One dark figure at the front of the crowd stood out most.

Voldemort had arrived.

* * *

It looked as though luck was on their side, for Voldemort had a limited number of dark creatures on his side. The Dementors were soon driven away by the sheer number of patronuses being shot towards them, while Grawp dealt with the few trolls Voldemort had managed to bring. There was no waiting to see who would make the first move, spells were immediately fired as they engaged their enemies in battle. Voldemort seemed to quickly realise that they had been pre-warned, for he was screaming at Severus, the most viable source, fury contorting his already snakelike face. There was obviously no hope of convincing the evil wizard otherwise, for Severus suddenly sprung into action, shooting a spell at Voldemort which missed him, but gave Severus enough time to disappear into the crowd.

Voldemort's anger at the betrayal exploded outwards in a magical shockwave that knocked anyone within twenty metres of him off their feet, light and dark side alike. Knowing it was not yet time to engage him in the final fight, Hermione grabbed Harry and pulled him away to another area as Voldemort headed towards Dumbledore and the remaining four of the main team broke into pairs; Sirius and Remus sprinting after Peter Pettigrew and an unknown death eater, while Tonks and Kingsley went up against Rabastan Lestrange and Evan Rosier. Hermione and Harry ducked and weaved through the throngs of battling witches and wizards, narrowly missing a few spells and stopping occasionally to shoot some spell to help their friends.

People were subtly taking their Felix Felicis potion at different moments, but thankfully neither Hermione nor Harry had needed it yet, thinking it would be best if they waited until they were facing Voldemort. They were just about to head back to begin their fight with Voldemort when they heard a scream behind them. Whipping their heads round they were confronted with the horrible sight of Fenrir Greyback, who seemed to have just ripped Lavender Brown apart. Hermione winced at the picture, she may not have been too fond of Lavender, but that sort of death shouldn't have to be experienced by anyone. Harry gave her a nod and ran towards the feral werewolf, ready to try and take him down. Hermione was about to follow him when she felt her feet stick to the ground and turned to see Rodolphus Lestrange sneering at her.

"You killed Bella," he said, eyes full of malice and a hint of the insanity Azkaban appeared to have instilled in him.

"She deserved to die," Hermione spat back, "after all the lives she's ruined, the people she's killed - she was a fucking monster. and I'm glad I did it." Not strictly true of course, Hermione wasn't fond of killing, but she wasn't about to let him know that, he'd sense the weakness.

"I will avenge my wife," he said, "but I will not make the mistake she did in trying to kill you. I shall bring you to my Lord and then when his purpose with you is done, I shall have you as my reward. You will beg for death a thousand times over before I grant you that wish."

Hermione's eyes grew cold, "I have no intention of going anywhere near that bastard you call Lord until I'm good and ready to kick his reptilian ass back to the hell he crawled out of. Until then I'm going to incapacitate as many dark minions as possible and that starts with you."

With those words she drew her wand faster than Rodolphus could blink and shot off a myriad of spells designed to incapacitate, but not kill him. She didn't strictly need her wand, but it made for better aim and she felt comfortable having it in her hand.

A sickly brown beam Hermione knew to be the Cruciatus curse whizzed past her ear and Hermione swore, she might have to get a little more violent.

* * *

While Hermione was battling Rodolphus Lestrange, Harry was having his own problems with Fenrir Greyback. Most of his spells seemed to practically bounce off the werewolf, despite him being in human form, and any that hit weren't Harry's strongest spells. With his werewolf senses, Greyback had the ability to quickly dodge what Harry threw at him. They both seemed to be getting an even number of shots in, until Harry was distracted by the sight of two green lights, indicative of Avada Kedavra, leaving Lucius Malfoy's wand one after the other and each hitting their targets; Minerva McGonagall and Seamus Finnegan. The moment of Harry's shock was all it took for Greyback to disarm him and begin to advance.

Harry had tried wandless spells with Hermione a few times, but only ever got the basics down and even they were shaky at best. He didn't have the training to perform any duelling spells without his wand unless some miracle occurred. For a moment he thought of using the Felix Felicis, after all he wouldn't even make it to Voldemort if he was killed by Greyback. He was saved from making a choice when Remus hurtled through the bushes and practically jumped on top of Greyback, engaging him immediately in spell fire. Harry knew this was something Remus had to do and so he turned to see if he could find Lucius Malfoy, make him pay for what he'd done to McGonagall and Seamus, only to find that he'd been beaten to the punch by Draco, who was battling his father with a fierce look on his face and the assistance of Blaise and Luna.

He decided to try and find Hermione, he had no idea where she'd disappeared to and he could only hope she wasn't in trouble. He ran in the direction he'd last seen her, pausing only to wince at the still body of Mad-Eye Moody and to shoot a stunner at a death eater who had been advancing on Ginny. He found Hermione in a clearing at the entrance of the Forbidden Forest, healing some superficial wounds on her arms and trying hard not to stare at the bloody body of Rodolphus Lestrange. "I killed him Harry," she whispered, "I'd promised myself I wouldn't do it again until Voldemort, even though they deserve it, but the spells he were sending were brutal and I just …" He cut her off with a hug, "it's ok Mione, we do what we have to in war, now come on, we need to get back to the main area." Hermione nodded, "yes, I think it's time, just remember that I'll enter your mind when the time is right and give you instructions so you know what to do." Her best friend nodded and they set off, leaving the body of Rodolphus Lestrange behind them.

"Have you seen Ron at all," asked Hermione with a worried look on her face, which worsened as Harry shook his head.

"I'm sure he's ok Hermione, he's with Bill, Fred and George - you know they wouldn't let anything happen to him."

Hermione nodded, "yes but what if …" she broke off as they spotted Hagrid, hand wielding a Basilisk fang, try to take down Nagini, only to be bitten by the snake before he could manage it.

Hermione shrieked and Harry rushed forward to his dying friend, leaning down as Hagrid choked, but spoke quietly to him. Hermione went for the Basilisk fang, but Neville was quicker and he wielded it like a true knight - Hermione wondered when her bumbling friend had become such a … well, such a hero. Neville's swing did not miss and the giant snake crashed to the floor, writhing as it took its final breath. Neville stayed only to hug Hermione swiftly and tell her to be careful before he rejoined the battle, striking down death eaters with a new zeal.

Hermione rushed over to Harry, who was sobbing brokenly over Hagrid's giant, deathly pale form. Hermione hugged him close, feeling her own tears fall and mingle with his. She didn't ask what Hagrid had said to him, knowing it was likely something personal. If Harry wished to tell her, then he could do so after the battle, he shouldn't relieve it on the battlefield. She coaxed him gently away from the body, wishing herself to stay a little longer with Hagrid, but knowing they had an evil megalomaniac to destroy. Harry came after a minute, silent and morose and she grasped his hand and pulled him through the groups of fighting people and dead bodies. When Voldemort came into their view Hermione nodded to Harry and they both pulled out their vials of Felix Felicis, drinking deeply and smiling slightly as the effects took hold.

Dumbledore was half laying, half sitting against the castle walls, magically and physically exhausted, but alive. Kingsley and Tonks appeared to have vanquished Rabastan Lestrange and Rosier, for they were in front of the old wizard, protecting him from any unfriendly fire and shooting off spells at any death eaters to come in their line of fire. Sirius, Remus and Snape were facing off to Voldemort now and it was taking all three to keep him from gaining the upper hand. Hermione felt delight at the assurance of their survival so far, but worry due to the wizard they were fighting. She rushed forward with Harry at her side and when Voldemort spotted them all battling seemed to cease, everyone waiting for what would happen between them.

* * *

"Harry Potter," Voldemort hissed, "and Hermione Granger too, how perfect - one to kill and one to corrupt."

Hermione's face darkened, "I don't think so Tom Riddle," she said, ignoring the gasps as she spoke his true name, "only one of us three shall die tonight and it will be you."

Voldemort scoffed, "you are powerful Hermione Granger, but not so much that you can defeat me. As for potter, he is a weak boy hiding behind more talented friends."

Hermione just shook her head, "you're wrong Tom and I'll prove it to you."

Harry felt her voice as a whisper in his mind a moment later and he knew what to do. In unison, they began the ritual to rid the world of Voldemort for good.

"I, Hermione Granger, heiress to Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin, judge you, Tom Riddle, heir of Salazar Slytherin."

"I, Harry Potter, heir to Godric Gryffindor, judge you, Tom Riddle, heir of Salazar Slytherin."

"I Hermione Granger, accuse you, Tom Riddle, of besmirching the name of wizard and bringing a plague of darkness upon our kind."

"I, Harry Potter, second this accusation. How do you plead?"

Voldemort's face contorted, "I have besmirched nothing, I am proud of every one of my actions."

Hermione smiled and she spoke in unison with Harry, "we have judged you and found no remorse. The punishment for your crimes is the worst we can give. You are not fit to walk this earth, as wizard, muggle or animal. Therefore we banish you to the depths of the underworld, where you will pay for your crimes for eternity."

The wind whipped around and lighting flashed. Magic filled the air.

Voldemort simply winked out of existence.

Hermione and Harry's voices were deadly calm as they spoke, "and so mote it be."

Then they collapsed.

* * *

Hermione woke to worried voices, as she had so long ago, the day she had fainted after discovering her true heritage. She blinked as her eyes opened and spotted a pale Harry also shaking himself awake. She looked up into a crowd of beaming faces and felt herself smile - despite the loss they had suffered, Voldemort was gone for good and would never darken the wizarding world again. She and Harry had sent him to a place for the worst of the worst and Hermione knew that his lack of remorse meant it would be at least a few millennia until the powers that be even considered moving him up to a slightly less terrible level of Hell. He would suffer, as all his victims had, but he would deal with it for eternity, as was the punishment for those found guilty of such terrible crimes.

Hermione hadn't been surprised when she woke from her collapse. She'd known that the spell would use an enormous amount of both Harry's and her own magical power and that there had been a chance that either one, or even both, of them would die from the enormous surge of power they'd used. She was extremely relieved to find that they were both in one piece and even more relieved when the first person to embrace her was Bill, shortly followed by Ron. Both she and Harry had seen some of the deaths, but they wanted to know who else they'd lost, who had put down their lives to make a better world. While she gripped Bill's hand and Harry held Ginny's, they walked down the length of the Great Hall, where the bodies of the fallen light had been lain of the tables.

They found Mrs Weasley weeping over Percy's body. Mr Weasley had an arm on his wife's shoulder and was watching Charlie, who was dabbing some thick paste on a few spell burns. Fred and George both had bruises and a sober George had informed them that Percy had died saving Fred from an explosion, explaining why the normally boisterous twin was staring silently at his brother's body. Ron was just looking at the scene as if he hadn't quite taken it in yet. Bill and Ginny stayed with Percy's body, the eldest boy with his arm around Ginny as she sobbed. Hermione and Harry tactfully decided to leave the family to their grief, they would comfort their respective partners later.

They found Alicia, Angelina, Katie, Lee, Dean and Luna with the bodies of Cho, Seamus, Michael Corner and the mangled remains of Lavender. Hermione's eyes welled up at the sight of her dead schoolmates and Harry hurried her away before the tears began. They passed the still forms of Emmeline Vance, Dedalus Diggle and Moody. Sirius and Remus was standing sombrely over the broken body of Mundungus Fletcher, who, they informed the pair, had been murdered assisting Sirius when he was ambushed by three death eaters. Harry rushed past Hagrid, not wanting to see his first friend in the wizarding world lying still and cold. Finally, they came to Minerva McGonagall, Dumbledore sitting next to her with suspiciously wet eyes. They did not disturb him, but simply went back to Remus and Sirius, who had been joined by Kingsley and Tonks, to ask them what had become of the death eaters.

Sirius gleefully informed them that Pettigrew, "that fucking little sneaky traitor," was dead and Remus said he had successfully killed Fenrir Greyback. Hermione had killed Rodolphus, while Rabastan had been killed by Tonks and Kingsley. Draco and Blaise informed them that Lucius Malfoy was dead. Hermione was concerned about the effect that killing his father might have on Draco, but though his face was stoic, there was a hidden pride there and Hermione knew he'd be alright. As for the rest of the death eaters, they were stunned or incapacitated and had been sent to Azkaban already - apparently Hermione and Harry had been asleep a little longer than they originally thought.

She left Harry talking to their friends and wandered off on her own to the edge of the Great Hall. She could hardly believe it was all over at last and knew it would definitely take a while to get used to. So many lives lost during the two wars, but so many deaths prevented by Voldemort's death now. Hermione smiled as she felt Bill's arms wrap around her and she felt shivers of pleasure as he kissed her gently on the cheek. They would be some of the people to help rebuild the wizarding world and ensure it was safer for future generations. It was a big job, but Hermione was sure they were up to it. For now though, she just wanted to go and sleep for a week, though she definitely wouldn't say no if Bill wanted to join her. They had a long road ahead, but they'd manage - after all, they had just defeated Voldemort.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; The Sexy Muggle Librarian, TsukiyoTenshi, Readerforlife, ladygoddess8 and Bill4728. **

**The next chapter - the epilogue - will be up in a few days. I'm so sad, it's almost over (cries hysterically lol).**


	58. Epilogue: 16 Years Later

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**In answer to the questions posed in reviews, yes, it was Hermione and Harry's status as heirs to one or more of the founders that allowed them to complete the spell. It was created to let one or more founders (or their descendants) pass judgement on another founder (or their heir) and if the crimes committed were terrible enough, the accused would be removed from earth. **

**Also, once this chapter and the next (which is a type of family tree) are up then this story will be officially complete. However, I will be starting a companion piece to this fic called 'Rebuilding', which will chronicle the life of Hermione, Bill and the rest of the surviving Order between the Final Battle and the 'Epilogue: 16 Years Later'. It will have things like engagements, weddings, births, Hogwarts and work, along with information on how certain couples got together. The first chapter will probably be uploaded in a few days.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter. **

* * *

**Epilogue: 16 Years Later**

"Izzie, Anna, Eddie, get your butts in gear and move it, we have to leave in two minutes."

"Be down in a minute mom, just gotta do my hair."

"Izzie, you've had ages already and we don't have the time. Ariana is all ready to go and I want to get there before she has the chance to ruin her dress." Hermione sighed as she said this, she didn't know how Isabella could spend so long on her hair, she'd thankfully not inherited Hermione's curly mane and yet she still seemed to take hours.

She smiled as Bill came down the stairs, one hand grasping Anna's small fist and the other dragging Edward down. She smiled at her husband of fourteen years, "I take it Eddie didn't want to wear a nice shirt then?"

Bill just shrugged and turned to Anna, "take your sister, wait by the fireplace and for Merlin's sake don't let her get any ashes on her dress - it was a present from your Aunty Ginny and you know what'll happen if it gets ruined." Anna nodded, James and Al had told her many stories of their mother's temper, and she grasped Ariana's hand to take her into their sitting room.

Edward tugged at his mother's sleeve and Hermione turned to look at her only son, the spitting image of his father with the only feature of his mother being her chocolate brown eyes. "Mum, why do I have to dress up, it's just family and friends; James, Al, Orion, Dan and Scorpius won't be wearing stupid shirts."

Hermione shook her head sternly. "Edward Patrick Weasley, you know that's not true. I know for a fact that they will all likely be wearing shirts, the only who won't force their son to wear one is Uncle Ron and we know he can barely dress himself, so that doesn't really count. Now go with your dad to wait with your sisters while I see what's taking Izzie so long."

Hermione headed upstairs to her daughter's room, chuckling to herself as she heard Bill scold Anna, "darling I'm glad you kept Ariana away from the soot, but couldn't you have made sure you stayed clean too."

She entered Isabella's room to find her eldest daughter brushing her auburn hair - Hermione loved that hair, a perfect blend of her brown locks and Bill's fiery red hair. "Izzie, your hair looks lovely and you look beautiful, now come on, we're very close to being late and you know how I feel about that."

Izzie's silvery laugh rang out, "I know mom, you're completely OCD with punctuality. Don't worry, I'm ready now, but I'm just wondering, was it really a good idea to leave dad with the little monsters?" she asked, as the two strained their ears to hear the squeals coming from below.

"Come on then, let's go save your father from Ariana and the terrible twins."

* * *

Five minutes later, with all four children accounted for and behaving, the family flooed into Potter Manor. After the war, the tight knit group that was the Order had taken to spending every Sunday evening and every Birthday meeting up at the Burrow with whoever was free that day. However, while that was a casual get together, they also held a party three times a year; at Christmas, Easter and in the summer, rotating between whichever houses could cope with the inordinate amount of people. These parties were not something anyone ever missed and days off were booked months in advance. There had been an incident a few years ago when Ron's boss hadn't wanted him taking the day off for the summer party. Of course all that had changed after one five minute meeting with a fuming Molly Weasley and an irate Boy-Who-Lived. Ron's boss learnt just why Molly was so revered and from that day on Ron could get pretty much any day he wanted off work.

Harry and Ginny were hosting this year's summer party and as soon as they had entered the Manor, Edward ran off to find James and Al, while Izzie went in search of Natalia Lupin, Cassie Black and Daisy Longbottom. Ginny appeared with her only daughter Lily, who immediately dragged Ariana off to show off "the new Hogwarts dolls house daddy got me for my Birthday."

Ginny shook her head, "he spoils her dreadfully, probably because she's our only girl, I'm just thankful that she's got a decent temperament or she'd have turned into a brat by now."

The red head bent down to scoop up her smallest son, three year old Gideon, just as Anna disappeared into the garden, where she'd heard the voices of Callie Lupin and Evanna Zabini.

Hermione left her bag in the hallway closet, grasped Bill's hand and followed their daughter into the garden where everyone was congregating due to the beautiful weather. The first sound to greet her was the screams of what they all referred to merely as 'The Quartet' - Fred and George's set of twins each. They had been born within a month of each other and would therefore be starting Hogwarts together. All teachers trembled with worry when they thought about the day Victoria, Arthur (Fred's twins), Molly and Brendan (George's twins) would start school, though thankfully it was still another three years away. All four were currently running around looking rather like red haired demons, while Angelina and Katie chastised their respective husbands, Fred and George, for giving them too much sugar and setting them hyper. It was funny to see the twins, who used to bow before no authority but their mother and Hermione, cower before their wives.

She almost gave a squeal when she saw Sirius, but refrained from doing so in order to prevent herself sounding completely ridiculous. She hugged him and quickly kissed his cheek in greeting, "I feel I haven't seen you in so long Sirius, damn you and your bloody long summer holidays."

The dark haired man just shrugged unapologetically, "both Maddie and I freelance so it doesn't matter when we take off, anyway, we wanted to celebrate Orion and Cassie's first year at Hogwarts, especially the fact that they managed to get through it without burning anything down." Hermione laughed, "how are they both, and how was Italy?"

Sirius opened his mouth but fell silent as his wife of thirteen years came up, "Italy was amazing Mione, I even managed to drag Sirius here to a couple of museums with me, but I think he preferred the beach and the pool."

She leant over to Hermione to whisper conspiratorially, "personally, I think he just likes watching me in a bikini."

Hermione burst out laughing as Sirius looked between the two of them suspiciously, "you're probably right Maddie, that sounds very much like Sirius."

The man is question gave a harrumph, "enough Sirius bashing please, you wanted to know about the twins?"

Hermione nodded and Sirius looked fondly over to one corner of the garden, where his two raven haired children were playing, "they're doing well, very talented in magic and Orion is a marauder's son through and through. Cassie's a little more well behaved, get's that off her mother of course."

Hermione smiled, "looks like my behaviour might be helping too, it's good to know I'm saving my goddaughter from too much of your influence."

She paused, "I better go, lots of people to see you know."

She gave Sirius another hug, kissed Maddie on the cheek and found herself pulled into a conversation Bill was having with the three remaining bachelors; Charlie, Kingsley and Dumbledore. Hermione reflected sadly that the latter hadn't really been the same since Minerva died, they had been such close friends and her loss had hit the old wizard hard, though since the 'Order children' had begun attending Hogwarts a few years previously, he appeared to have more life in his step. Kingsley was, as always, married to his work as Minister For Magic and Charlie's response to his mother's regular requests for him to marry and give her grandchildren was that "you already have thirteen grandchildren and a whole host of other kids who are just like family too, you don't need any more from me." Despite Charlie being forty-one, Molly showed no sign of cutting down on her requests for grandchildren, probably due to the fact that wizards lived much longer than muggles and that in wizarding terms Charlie was still in his prime.

She left that conversation after a little while, heading over to greet Neville and his wife Hannah, who had their children Daniel and Daisy with them. The twins were due to start Hogwarts in a month and were quizzing all the children who already attended about what it was like, arguing about whether they'd be in Gryffindor like their father or Hufflepuff like their mother. Hermione knelt down to them and told them that they'd be wherever they wanted - the sorting hat took their choice into account. She also mentioned how Sirius had been the first Black in generations to not be a Slytherin and left the two children a little more contented that they'd end up where they belonged.

Hermione was soon caught up in a conversation with Draco, who had become head of Malfoy Industries after his father's death all those years ago during the Final Battle. The years since the war had softened Draco even more and he was almost unrecognisable as the boy who called her mudblood and taunted Harry and Ron as Potty and Weasel. Though there was still the regular flashes of sarcasm and occasional bouts of him 'forgetting' to call Harry and Ron by their given names, things were pretty good and he was now on civil terms with all the Order and friendly with most. He pointed out his son Scorpius, who looked more like him every time Hermione saw him and also his little girl, Cissa, whose blonde hair she spotted with Ariana and Lily's red.

After a few minutes chat, Narcissa came up with Draco's wife Astoria, one of Hermione's favourite shopping partners, along with Ginny, Tonks and Maddie. She greeted them cheerfully and they spoke for a few minutes, before Hermione spotted Severus skulking by the rose bush and left them to go say hello to her favourite potions master.

"Hermione," he said with a smile, "good to see you."

She nodded and gave him a hug, "nice to see you escaping from your dungeons occasionally. So how's Hogwarts treating you?"

Severus gave a shrug, "most of the children are dunderheads as normal, Potter's eldest son is as dismal as he was, though from what I've heard his next son Albus may actually have his grandmother's talent in potions. Your daughter Isabella does well too, must have inherited that from you because from what I remember, Bill Weasley didn't have a particular talent with potions. It also seems that while Lupin's son has inherited his parent's dislike of potions, Natalia Lupin has quite a proficiency for it. No idea where that appeared, Lupin hated potions and no sensible person would let Nymphadora anywhere near a volatile potion - I vividly recall my delight when she dropped potions, the number of accidents went down dramatically, she was almost as bad as Longbottom."

Hermione laughed, "ahh, as complimentary as ever Severus. I'd love to stay and chat about the disgraceful qualities of today's potion students, but I've just spotted Harry and Ron, I haven't said hello yet."

Severus sneered a little, though it was good natured, "well you must go over and speak with them, I believe I'll go talk to Albus, he's been mentioning something about me supervising Hogsmeade visits next year and I must dissuade him of the idea immediately."

Hermione shook her head, "he must be mad if he thinks he'll get you doing that - everyone knows you would rather spend a month with no one but Sirius for company over supervising Hogsmeade. I'll see you later then," she said and gave him a kiss on the cheek, heading over to where she could see Harry and Ron talking together.

She snuck up behind her two best friends, placing a hand over each pair of eyes, "guess who?" she sang, laughing when they both pushed her hands away and practically jumped on her for a group hug - just like they were seventeen again.

"What have you two been up to then, nothing terrible I hope."

Ron gave her a mock hurt look, "us, do anything terrible Mione, I don't know what you're talking about."

Hermione snorted elegantly, "don't play dumb with me Ronald, I know what both you and Harry get up to in the auror department, I get all the news from Verity and Ginny remember."

Harry muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "damned women and their gossip," but just smiled when Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"Is Ethan glad to be back home?" she asked Ron.

The red head nodded, "he loves Hogwarts, though not so much the work, but he likes it at home too. I think he's just glad he got into Gryffindor, don't tell her he said so, but he didn't particularly want to be in Hufflepuff like Verity was, though he's obviously never said it to her."

"He's where he's supposed to be I think," said Hermione, "Eddie and Anna are always talking about where they'll go - my bet is Gryffindor for the pair of them. They're all intelligent, but Eddie and Anna are a bit wilder than Izzie, which is why she went to Ravenclaw."

Hermione turned to Harry, "has James been scaring Al with stories about Slytherin," she asked with a smile.

Harry nodded, "I've managed to get him to stop by reminding Al that the sorting hat will take his choice into account and that Ginny and I will be happy wherever he goes, as long as he's happy and works hard. Even if he ends up in Slytherin I don't think he'll be unhappy, it's become a better house over the years and he is the only one of my children to get along with Snape. He looks to be promising at potions so I doubt he'll get as many detentions with Snape than James has over the past few years. I shouldn't have named him James Sirius, it was just asking for trouble," he told them with a laugh.

Hermione shrugged, "you know how proud Sirius is of him though, especially when he filched the map from your desk last year."

The trio, as close as ever, burst out laughing together and Hermione hugged them both before going off to talk to everyone else. She loved their parties because it was brilliant to see everyone all in one place - fun to see as Harry laughed with Draco as they exchanged stories about their children, to see Severus actually get out of the dungeons and socialise. She would always miss those that were not there; Minerva, Hagrid, Moody and everyone else who had laid down their lives for a better world. But despite all that, she had what she wanted in her husband, children and family. She wouldn't change any of it for the world.

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**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; Readerforlife, ladygoddess8, TsukiyoTenshi and The Sexy Muggle Librarian.**

**The next chapter will just be a family tree type chapter, so you can see what couples have which children and how old they are all meant to be in this epilogue.**


	59. Epilogue: Family Trees

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

**Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter. This chapter will give the full names of all the children the main characters in this story, along with the ages of both adults and children at the time of the Epilogue. It will also explain why I chose these names, as many of them have some significance in the Harry Potter universe. I hope it helps you get the names straight and know which children belong to which set of parents.**

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**Epilogue: Family Trees**

Hermione (34) and Bill (43) Weasley

**Isabella Hope (12):** The first name has no significance in the Harry Potter world. The middle name of Hope seemed appropriate considering that the end of the war gave hope to the wizarding world for a more peaceful society.

**Edward Patrick (10) : **His first name is a tribute to Hermione's deceased father, Edward Granger. The middle name is merely one I liked. It also struck me that Hermione may well be likely to pick more traditional names.

**Anna Ginevra (10): **Her first name is a tribute to Hermione's deceased mother, Anna Granger. Ginevra is obviously for Hermione's best female friend, Ginny Potter neé Weasley, who is also Bill's only sister.

**Ariana Minerva (5): **Ariana was the name of Dumbledore's little sister, who died in an accident when she was younger. For the full story read Deathly Hallows. Minerva is obviously a tribute to the deceased transfiguration professor, who was a member of the Order and Hermione's favourite teacher, as well as her Head of House.

Harry (34) and Ginny (33) Potter 

**James Sirius (13): **Pretty obvious really, named for Harry's father James and his godfather Sirius. (In line with Deathly Hallows epilogue)

**Albus Severus (10): **Also obvious, after the two people who fought tirelessly against Voldemort, risking their lives time and time again; Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape. (Also in line with Deathly Hallows epilogue).

**Lily Mia (5): **The first name is for Harry's mother Lily. The second name, Mia, is in recognition of Hermione and is the name James Sirius and Albus Severus called her when they were young and couldn't pronounce her name properly.

**Gideon Remus (3): **The first name is for Gideon Prewett, Molly Weasley's brother and Ginny's uncle, who died during the first war. The second name is for James and Sirius' other best friend and one of the three marauders (we don't count Peter since he is a traitor)

Remus (54) and Nymphadora 'Tonks' (41) Lupin

**Teddy Harry (16): **First name is for Tonks' father Ted Tonks and the second name is for the boy's godfather Harry Potter.

**Natalia Andromeda (14): **I used the first name since it is also the first name of the actress, Natalia Tena, who plays Tonks in the movies. Her second name is for Tonks' mother, Andromeda Tonks.

**Callie Rose (10): **No significance in the Harry Potter universe, I just wanted them to have another child and liked the two names.

Sirius (54) and Madeline (48) Black

**Orion Regulus (12): **First name is Sirius' middle name and also to do with stars and constellations, which is a theme in the family. His second name is after Sirius' younger brother Regulus, who turned against Voldemort and died for it.

**Cassie Sofia (12): **Cassie is a version of Cassiopeia, which is a constellation (again with the Black family theme). Sofia has no significance to the Harry Potter world but just seemed like the sort of name Sirius would use.

Blaise (34) and Luna (33) Zabini

**Evanna Maria (9): **Her first name is the first name of the actress who plays Luna in the films, Evanna Lynch. The second name is for Blaise's mother Maria.

**Gabriel Isaac (7): **No significance to the Harry Potter world. I believe that any children of Luna Lovegood would have rather ethereal names and these two were my favourite boys names to suit that sort of idea.

Ron (34) and Verity (36) Weasley

**Ethan Fabien (11): **First name has no significance. Second name is for Fabien Prewett, Molly Weasley's other brother and Ron's uncle, who was killed in the first war.

Fred (36) and Angelina (36) Weasley

**Victoria Olivia (8): **Victoria is a play on victory and she was named such as a celebration for their victory in the war. Olivia has no significance in the Harry Potter universe.

**Arthur Percival (8): **He is named for his paternal grandfather Arthur Weasley and his second name is for Percival (Percy) Weasley, the only Weasley to die during the Final Battle.

George (36) and Katie (35) Weasley

**Molly Lucy (8): **She is named for her paternal grandmother Molly Weasley. Her second name has no significance in the Harry Potter universe.

**Brendan Joshua (8): **Brendan is for the actor who plays Mad-Eye Moody in the films (Brendan Gleeson) ,because I wanted to honour Mad-Eye somehow, but I also just liked the name. Joshua has no significance in the Harry Potter universe.

Neville (34) and Hannah (34) Longbottom

**Daniel Frank (11): **Daniel has no significance in the Harry Potter universe. Frank is after Neville's incapacitated father Frank Longbottom, an auror tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange and others.

**Daisy Alice (11): **Daisy is just a name I like and I thought it would be nice to give both children first names beginning with the same letter. Alice is after Neville's incapacitated mother Alice Longbottom, who was tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange and others.

Draco (34) and Astoria (32) Malfoy

**Scorpius Draco (9): **His first name I chose to be the same as in the epilogue of Deathly Hallows. His second name is his father's first name, just as Draco's middle name was Lucius.

**Narcissa Daphne (6): **Her first name is for Draco's mother, Narcissa Malfoy. Her middle name is for Astoria's older sister Daphne Greengrass, who is mentioned in the books to be the same year as Draco and the trio.

Bachelors

**Kingsley Shacklebolt (52): **Minister For Magic and married to his work.

**Severus Snape (54): **Still teaching at Hogwarts and terrifying children.

**Charlie Weasley (41): **Still working with dragons, though less of an active role given his age, and content to be a bachelor uncle.

**Albus Dumbledore (132): **Still the Headmaster of Hogwarts, though he's slowing down a bit.

Bachelorettes

**Narcissa Malfoy (58): **Never remarried after Lucius and is a 'lady who lunches,' along with helping look after her two grandchildren.

**Maria Zabini (53): **Lives with Blaise and Luna, helping to look after her two grandchildren.

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**Thank you to all who have reviewed throughout this story, it's been long going but I got to the end eventually, something that would have been difficult without all your encouraging reviews. See my user page for more stories, along with a list of future fics.**

**I will now be posting a Hermione/Severus story called 'Fighting The Darkness' that is a little darker than this and updates won't be as frequent, though chapters will be longer. If that doesn't suit you, I will also be posting a companion piece to this fic called 'Rebuilding', which will chronicle the life of Hermione, Bill and the rest of the surviving Order between the Final Battle and the 'Epilogue: 16 Years Later'. It will have things like engagements, weddings, births, Hogwarts and work, along with information on how couples like Neville/Hannah, Ron/Verity, Sirius/Madeline, Draco/Astoria, Fred/Angelina and George/Katie got together. This companion fic is now up on my page.**


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